


Hell Hath No Fury

by Pan_2000



Series: Warrior's Way [8]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Twilight Series - All Media Types
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, BAMF Finn (Star Wars), BAMF Leah Clearwater, Badass Jannah, Badass Poe Dameron, Badass Rey (Star Wars), Belief and Friendship, Brains vs Brawn, But still needs a hug, Dark Rey (Star Wars), F/M, Finn Needs A Hug (Star Wars), Jealousy, Love Triangles, Rejection, Rey was wrong in TROS, This is a bit dark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:42:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 48,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27880949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pan_2000/pseuds/Pan_2000
Summary: ... like a woman scorned.Alastor is dead, Stormwolf has won. Finn and Leah have survived everything the demons threw at them. Zombies, vampires, Yokai, one of their leaders.However, the Chosen One herself has found her way to them, and since the Dyad had broken, she had realized how she treated Finn. Now she wants him back, but is he willing to forgive her?
Relationships: Finn/Rey (Star Wars), Leah Clearwater/Finn (Star Wars)
Series: Warrior's Way [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1477178
Comments: 62
Kudos: 11





	1. Reyunion

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FinnReyfitzsimmonsshipper](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FinnReyfitzsimmonsshipper/gifts), [JediBatman](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JediBatman/gifts).



> So, I got a lot of requests for a sequel. Actually, there were just four people, but for me that's a great number!
> 
> I promise, Finn will struggle with his feelings for both women and it won't be cross-tagging. Though at the beginning he won't just forgive Rey so easily.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fateful meeting between three legends. The Chosen One and the Protectors of Free Will. This will be the beginning of their tragedy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter might not be very friendly to Rey, but things might change for the better. There will be some Finnrey moments in later chapters, I promise.
> 
> Also, Twilight is tagged 90% bc of Leah, who is literally the character who gets bashed for no reason in canon. Don't hate on her for being in Twilight, please!

"Rey, is that you?" 

"Yes, Finn. It's me. I came back. Like you always did."

Leah's heart beats louder and louder. After everything she did for Finn, after everything Rey did to him, Finn is just going to push her and their relationship away and go chase after the Scavenger again? 

So Rey can break Finn's heart, and Finn can break Leah's? 

Finn turns to Rey. "I am happy to be aknowledged. I know why you came here. You realized chasing after someone who treats you like shit is stupid and a waste of your time. I am proud of you, Rey. Even ignoring what I had for you, you deserve better than Kylo. 

However, do you know why I left you? Because I learned that lesson first. I regret chasing after you. I am sorry. Sorry for making you hit me from my selfish intention of wanting to help you."

"Finn, I am sorry. I understand why you are angry, but I have changed."

"I am not so sure. I suspect you might not even be guilty, but don't try to escape consequences. You are too late, Rey. I already have a girlfriend. Someone who shared a lot of experiences with me. Someone who never treated me like garbage.

Someone who did not make me a second choice to a war criminal, who murdered his own family! I am not second rate to any war criminal, Rey. And people who think I am don't deserve my respect."

"But I never did..."

"Yes, you did! You yelled at me not to take your hand, that you did not need me, that I don't know you, while you acted as if you wanted the hand of a side of Kylo, a guy who abused you, that you had never seen.

Why, Rey? Does it have with my skin color? I saw a few people in this world who judge by skin. Do you?"

"No. Finn. No, I don't put skin color above personality. I am not this evil and stupid."

"That's nice to hear. However, I still don't like the way you treated me! You didn't trust me because I wasn't calling you a nobody, wasn't throwing you in trees. Leah? Oh, Leah knows how to appreciate her friends better. And, Rey, you also might have seen something.

That lightsaber in my belt. Yeah, I built it myself. With the absence of you and Rose to belittle me in every turn and do your best to keep me out of "your" fights, because we can't just steal your precious spotlight, o great and powerful Chosen One, I started finding myself more and more."

Rey feels nervous. She remembers how Kylo said she is nothing to everyone else but him. How the two should rule the Galaxy. That was gaslighting. She could survive through it because she knew these were lies. But this broke something inside her. She hurt him that much? After everything he did for her?

"And, Rey, in spite of not being the Chosen One, in spite of not having instant expertise with the Force like you, I worked... and worked... and worked... and found friends, and even a mentor. Leah, too, worked hard and kept improving day by day. In the end, I became a Jedi Knight.

This lightsaber isn't your torch, and it isn't a gift for you either. I am so much more than an orbiter of you, and now I know it. This saber is a weapon of a Jedi Knight. I am sorry, but someone had to be a Jedi."

"Am I not a Jedi?" 

"A Jedi doesn't try to isolate themselves from their friends, does not attack them in the middle of the fight, and especially doesn't turn their back to innocents to defend the guilty. You may be a Jedi now, if you grew out of that." Finn's tone lowers, he is about to start shaking. "But the last time I saw you, you weren't the paragon of virtue everyone pretends you are, while I am called a coward for refusing to murder civilians. No, Rey, that is not right."

"About Kef Bir, I only attacked you because I wanted to protect you from Kylo!"

"Then why did you heal him afterwards? Were you so afraid of me interfering with the will of the Dyad? Even in Starkiller, I did weaken him enough for you. I came all this way so you can treat me like shit. And because of that, we also lost General Leia. What, are you so afraid of me helping you? You are powerful on your own, you don't have to bring me down to look better."

"And now you are putting yourself in danger. You know, I hear in the news how demons were looking for you, and how horrible you are. I was actually afraid you would get killed."

"Wanna tell you something, Rey? I had to train, and train, and train, to become a true Jedi. But in the end? I finally made sure Leah and I, as well as this planet, can breathe for a while. Do you know about the Archdemons, too? How many have you killed?" 

"Ugh... I... got close to murder one. He had to use his strongest monster."

"I actually killed one. Threw him out of a window."

Leah finally interferes. "And do you know why he got further than you did? Because he didn't try to be alone. He did not constantly run off the team we made, because he trusted us, his real friends. We helped each other get higher and higher all the way, never made each other feel useless, and defended each other with our lives. 

If Finn made wrong choice after wrong choice and expected the Force to give him a power boost to save him, and attacked me to rob me of a chance of a rematch against the demon he killed and so I don't risk my life helping him, he would fall at the first minute."

Finn gives a confirming thumbs up to her.

Rey turns to the she-wolf. "Who do you think you are? We used to be friends, but then you had to act like you can steal my boyfriend! You are just a placeholder for me! Stay out of this!"

" _Your_ boyfriend? If you were right, he would leave me for you as soon as he realized you came and have at least some regret! But no, he isn't your boyfriend, because you rejected him."

Finn continues for Leah. "And now, you simply realized who truly lost of the two. I thought I was not good enough, with you yelling at me not to touch you, prioritizing one of the worst people in the Galaxy over me for no reason, keeping me out of your missions. You made me feel weak, while I was actually powerful. In Exegol, while you were busy kissing Kylo, I was inspiring and leading former Stormtroopers, actual victims and slaves, to stand up for themselves and stop Palpatine's massive fleet. 

And now that precious Ben is dead, you come at me?" 

"Finn, you have every right to be mad about that kiss. Do you know I washed my mouth with mud before I started looking for you? And that I chose mud on purpose, because it was less filthy than Kylo Ren?

Don't you dare act like I only care about him, or that I am anything like this abusive, entitled asshole!"

"Rey, you are not like Kylo, but still enabled him. And, honestly? I believe you washed your mouth. That's my Rey, standing up for herself. However, that does not erase everything else but that stupid kiss. 

My destiny is not chasing after you, screaming your name, getting belittled in every turn for getting in the way of your stupid Dyad. I am sick of being called a fool when I am trying to help you, and I don't want to be under the shadow of you again. I just don't want you to keep hurting me anymore. 

Rey, my future is with my friends, where we support each other at all times. I am afraid you will start running off and defend slavers again, while you won't give a shit about real victims."

Rey loses her cool. This is how the Dyad was molding her, and even though Finn knows she changed, he still is not the old Finn, the one who was always there for her. She acts on impulse, does something she would regret seconds later. Something she did more than once under the Dyad's control.

She gives Finn a right hook. Before Finn realized his potential, he could not block Rey's punches easily, she was too fast for him. While the Dyad was draining her inner strength, it did boost her outer. 

However, she realizes what her guardian angel told her to be afraid of, appealing to her pride, was almost true. Finn was closing the distance between their abilities. He catches her punch in mid-air.

Rey's mouth opens in shock. "Why... why don't you hit me back?" 

"Two reasons. Because I used to love you, Rey, and I don't want to hurt you. And because I don't want to turn into you at your worst!" 

Before Rey can respond, Leah darts right behind her and catches her other arm. "Hit him again, and I am not as kind as him. Finn and I suspect you were under an imprint and I know you were a good woman before it. But an imprint doesn't excuse your actions."

"Leah, don't hurt her. An imprint will indeed make sense, but I think what I did was what she wanted. Me away from her, to stop taking her hand."

A tear flows at Rey's cheek. "No, Finn. That was not what I truly wanted!" She breaks free and storms off.

Leah turns to Finn. "Thank you for not dumping me like Sam did."

"I am not your filthy ex, Leah. I believe this is the best decision. The one that will make all three of us happy. You and I together, enjoying being loved, and I don't bother Rey who didn't want me anyway. I don't want to hurt either of you." 

Rey, meanwhile, doesn't see it that way. 

**Rey's POV**

I thought he would forget all about our past and just fall into my arms, like the old times. I shouldn't have isolated myself from him. 

I can't blame Finn or myself. He saw what I did, but not the manipulation behind that. Not fully. The one to blame could be Leah. She took him from me. But, no, Kylo is to blame above all else. Kylo, who gaslit me, said nobody cared about me but him, and the Dark One who forced me to do things that don't make any sense!

Is that my destiny? A lie? 

I want guidance. Any guidance. Finn, the man who would never leave my side, left me. 

A vision appeared. It was the man I loathed for killing my parents. No, if he can help me with this, he is my grandpa. 

He knows what I am going through. He knows. 

"Hello, granddaughter. I see your best friend stopped supporting you. That is awful, a traitorous Stormtrooper to reject his future Empress. He betrayed us both, Rey Palpatine. But, I wanted to help Anakin Skywalker, my own creation, to help his loved ones. So they don't get taken away from him."

"And, in the process, made him kill Padme. I do not want to kill Finn because of you."

"Ha ha ha... no, you will not kill him, I promise. However, I will give you power. Power to save what you two once had!"

I hope he is not being a fraud, like he was with Anakin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to make sure both sides have points and not make it a full rant. Get perpared, because Finn, Leah and Rey are going to face the hardest challenges of their lives!
> 
> With whom will Finn end up with?


	2. A ray falls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn thinks about how he treated Rey at their talk, what he once had about her, and more things. 
> 
> Rey is about to do something she would not do normally.
> 
> Something watches them, and calculates their actions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I can't just let Finn reject Rey and end it there. Ok, let's give consequences for TROS Rey, but Finn and Leah might have gone a bit far.

Finn's mood has changed since Rey arrived. Maybe he treated her too harsh? She came all this way only for him to push her away. Then again, she had done the same to him a lot, and he, at least, did not choose an abusive murderer of children over her. 

He wanted to make sure Rey knew who lost from the two. Because, with her having so much support from the Force handed to her and him having nothing, even finding his own family wasn't important to the so-called will of the Force, and of course Rey and Rose belittling him, their own ally, sometimes, she could be under the delusion that Finn lost her, not vice versa.

He believes Rey doesn't deserve to get hurt in any way, but that she should realize that what she did was wrong and not easily forgiven. He thought Rey wanted nothing to do with him because he was not strong enough. Yeah, it has to be power, or she was manipulated, because he remembers her old self, the one he loved. A strong, independent woman, who did get angry easily and was smug, but he still adored her.

And then he remembered the dream. With the vanilla and strawberry. Where he had to choose. And also the _ray_ of sunshine and the _clear water_...

Leah, seing Finn lost in his thoughts, puts a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Finn. I know what is wrong. You are thinking about her, right? You feel bad for how you treated her, right?" 

"Yes, but I am not without my reasons. I was mean, but I hope someone understands me, that I am not just a side character in the story of an abusive relationship. Leah, I know you also feel the same, that you also got through the same. 

Let's go home before I cry in public."

Meanwhile, just before Rey reaches the room she rented, she meets Virago.

"Hello there, Rey! What's wrong? Did you meet Finn?"

"Sadly, yes. I found him. I found him cheating on me with that bitch, Leah! Leah and I used to be friends, but she..."

"I had talked to Finn before, Rey. Tried to bridge the gap created by them. Does he suspect the truth about the secret of the Dyad?" 

"He does, and so does Leah, but she doesn't want me to just come back with everything I did to Finn. And Finn... I came back for him, but he pushed me away. And, trust me, it's awful." 

"Don't worry, I will tell the truth."

"It's not so easy. Finn sees me as a bully and doesn't want to both be in my shadow and getting mistreated, and he might get angry if you basically tell him you helped lead me here. And, Virago, I don't want you to be seen as someone who hurt her own heroes.

I need a hug, Virago. I really do. And I hope Finn can forgive me."

Rey and Virago embrace each other. 

"Don't worry, Rey. We will work so everything is fine."

A bit later, at the room of Finn and Leah, Leah and her pet mouse try to comfort Finn as much as they can.

He is laying on their bed and they stand beside him. "Leah... I had a dream. Symbolic one. I had to choose between you and Rey, back when we were in Greece. Remembering what Rey had done, remembering what you did for me, I realized you were the one. 

But now Rey came back. Part of me wants to forgive her. She might have been under an evil influence. I wanted to believe I saved her by leaving. By showing she was wrong. 

The problem, and the reason I love you, is that while you got out of your way to make me feel loved and happy, Rey often made me feel useless and unwanted. I grew out of those feels when I killed Benjamin and saved you."

Finn turns to Little Finn, who is rubbing his shoulder to comfort him. 

"And as for you, little guy, I am thankful for your existence. Thank you for keeping Leah happy, for showing me I am loved, for saving me from Armilla, for literally everything. Thank you, both, for showing me I deserved better than what I got through and got better."

Poe enters the room. "What's wrong, buddy? Why are you sad?" 

"Rey. She came here, and brought bad memories with her. I thought I could finally be happy after Alastor died, but no... I just don't want to be treated like shit again from her. I can't go back to her after everything! Do you understand?" 

"Very well, Finn. On Kef Bir, do you remember? You were the only one who defended her. What did you gain from that?" 

"Nothing. And I didn't expect much anyway. But, honestly? I also believe she is a victim. I sensed, I think I also heard, something very evil influencing her."

"Maybe it has to do with her lineage."

"Palpatine? Good think she got rid of the bastard. But again, I don't understand why I am not the Chosen One, and worse, why the actual Chosen One acts like I am worthless."

"Yet you are not worthless. It's ok you are not the Chosen One. You don't have to be, and shouldn't complain about it. With your own sweat and blood, scars and effort, you took back your life. You did not give up on living and helping people, Finn. You might not be a Skywalker or come from the Force, but you are a good man."

"So are you, Poe Dameron. And you are right. I don't have to be the Chosen One." 

The two men embrace. They can't help but see each other as true family.

Meanwhile, in another dimension, the fearsome Palace of Twilight stands proud. It is a big building surrounded by shadows, and has also some glowing red and green symbols everywhere. 

In the throne room, a Reaper gives his report. 

"Lord Zant, o mighty High General, I spied on Stormwolf and Rey. Nobody noticed me."

"Did they reconcile?"

"No, I have wonderful news. Finn rejected her. He told her to leave."

Zant clasps his hands. "That's great. Seems like he can think selfishly. And seems like she will be more vulnerable now. My god's magic did so many good things, so subtly. The Great One would love this outcome, especially if infighting happens."

"So, what should we do?" 

"Nothing."

The Reaper's jaw drops. "N... nothing at all?" 

"Yes. I do know Finn and Rey, and they had great chemistry by themselves, without the Great One's hand. I will let their angst and anger turn to hate and make sure Rey and Stormwolf end up in arms. If Rey starts getting in the path of the Dark, do not interfere at all."

"But we could crush them as they are distracted."

"NO. This is why I mentioned their chemistry. The two also had many good moments in their history, and if any common enemy tries to kill them both, they will ally immediately to give said enemy the boot. Plus, we lost Alastor and need time to recover. 

He had a good cover, sent his monsters with armies and at good conditions and even managed to have some of our enemies killed. However, that did not prove enough. For now, all we can do in these fronts is wait."

"When can we strike?"

"Right after this conflict is resolved, in any way."

Back to the headquarters of Stormwolf, Emily is cooking food, Q is writing pro-Resistance articles, and Finn has completely calmed down. 

After he let everything out and learned that some of his worries were wrong, and why, he now feels only a bit guilty. "Rey... If you hear me, prove you have changed for the better and I will forgive you. I went a bit too far."

Poe is curious. "How did you change your mind so quickly?"

"Sorry, Poe, but I remembered the past and I... I was not myself. I did want to teach Rey a lesson, but she did show signs of having changed. Though Leah believes I did the right thing."

"Leah wants you to be happy. If Rey didn't hurt you, Leah would sacrifice her own feelings to see you two happy. However, we can't force you to be happy about Rey."

"That's absolutely true."

Unfortunately, what's also true is that Finn has no telepathy, he just can read minds. While he can now understand BB-8, Little Finn and Leah's wolf form, he can't reach out to Rey or anyone the way Leah can with her pack.

So, Rey, after separating with Virago, can't hear him. She can only hear the spirit of Palpatine.

"I see some people still support you, Rey."

"I healed that girl myself. And she admired me even beforehand."

"She would make a good apprentice of yours. Something tells me she would be glad to be your servant. You are already using her as a spy on your boy-toy. 

Hoping to bring him back. He has a girlfriend now. It's hard to earn him back with kindness. However, while his talents lied on bringing hope to the downtrodden and determination, these are useless compared to your unlimited prowess with the Force. I saw how far he went, and he believes too much on his friends. You are still stronger than him. You should not allow those weaker than you to talk so badly to you. I am happy you decided to kill your abuser, Unkar Plutt, and cut ties with Kylo. You should not let the weak speak to you as superiors or equals. 

In fact, Finn was wrong to treat you like this! He should be on his knees, asking for forgiveness for leaving you and come back to you with no conditions the moment you wanted him back."

"But he has a point. I did not treat him well."

"No. You were stronger, and he was weaker, and you deserved to overshadow him. And you could handle yourself, his empathy was pointless and made you feel weaker. No, I will not force you to be apart. You see, his lover is evil. She wants to keep him to herself, just to spite what you two once had. She is a bitter harpy, and exploits your friend's kindness to replace an ex of hers. Do you want the man of your dreams to be stuck with her? You can be an empress, you are the new Chosen One! You can get the Traitor to serve you and make you happy.

I can give you everything you desire." Palpatine learned from his mistakes. If he realized Kylo's obsession with his granddaughter, Kylo would forever be his puppet. It took Luke's best efforts to barely help Vader, where Palpatine used the right tools to corrupt him. "I can make you live forever with your Finn, and have all the power to stand up to every abuser in the Universe!"

"Really?" 

"You don't have to rule the Galaxy in my exact footsteps. You, as the Chosen One, are now the most powerful being in your Galaxy. Think of the possibilities. People adoring you. Nobody calling you nobody! You will crush every rapist and abuser in the world, bringing with you law and order! And of course, you will have your loved one as your consort.

The Dark One wanted you to kneel. I want you to stand... my granddaughter."

"I will, grandfather. I am not doing this for your sake. I will make sure... I will not become as bad as you."

"This is acceptable."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, the antagonists are the Palpatines. The elder is the villain, the younger is the tragic character. This is also why in the last chapters of WHEA Rey suddenly had setbacks.
> 
> Was Finn or Rey right? Should Finn feel regret for what he said? 
> 
> Did you like Zant? Would YOU take Palpatine's offer?


	3. A friend for a friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Stormwolf freed the Earth, they still have a lot to do. As Finn and Leah do their very first mission after the Boar News Tower, Rey strikes for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this got delayed because I focused on writing a side story. I hope you like this.

Finn wakes up in an awful way.

Leah is screaming in her sleep. "NO! DON'T DO THIS TO ME!" 

Finn knows he has to wake her up. He plants a kiss in her forehead to calm her down.

"It's ok, Leah. Whatever you have, it must be awful, but it's not real."

Leah wakes up and sees him in front of her.

"Finn?" 

"Yes, Leah. It's me. I am here. You are safe. Take slow, deep breaths." 

"Finn... this nightmare was bad."

"Did you dream of your old pack again? They are gone. All the abusive members of them are dead."

"No, Finn. I never had that nightmare since the battle with Alastor. Maybe conquering Jacob's shadow has to do with it."

"So, what was it?" 

"I dreamed of Rey. I know how my old packmates handled rejection. Or the vampires. And I remembered when Rey threw a punch at you."

"I was too mean to her."

"You were not enough."

"Rey might had thought I don't know her, but she is wrong. I do know her, more than she thinks I do. Tell me... what did you see about her?" 

"I saw her... telling me that she was the Chosen One and you were her prize." 

"What? No! That's not Rey!"

"And I also dreamed her of using her lightsaber to attack me. I tried to defend myself, but she was too strong for me. She was about to stab me when you woke me up."

"Rey can be a little proud and jealous, but no. She would never, ever try to kill you. Trust me, I know her."

"And what if she does?" 

"It means someone is poisoning her mind. Possibly Palpatine, because Kylo is apparently redeemed, and he would want Rey all to himself. I mean, he said he would destroy Rey and everyone else since she rejected him."

"The son of a..."

"Leia, his mother, was a great woman. Anyway, can we talk about something else?" 

Little Finn is there and can't see Leah in distress. He runs at Leah and starts using his little feet to tickle her belly.

"Finn! S-Stop it!"

"Stop what?" 

"Not you, the other F-Finn! P-please!"

Leah picks her pet mouse up and cuddles him. "Now that you stopped tickling me, I would like to thank you for keeping me happy during and after imprisonment."

She starts rubbing the mouse's back. "What was wrong and you came straight to me?" 

"Squeak!"

Finn, using his mind reading, translates. "He says you were in a bad condition and he just wanted to cheer you up." 

Leah sees her pet trying to hug her big torso and smiles. "Oh, you did this for me? Awww, thank you so much!"

"Squeak!"

"He said no problem."

As Leah keeps her pet close to her chest, Finn senses someone coming to their room.

It's Poe Dameron. "Finn? Leah? What happened?" 

"A nightmare." Finn responds. "About Rey." 

Three hours later, Rey stands alone in her hotel room. "Palpatine thinks I am going to turn into him. If he wants a pawn, he is mistaken. The days I was submissive to people I know were awful are gone long ago."

**Rey's POV**

So, am I just angry for being rejected by Finn? 

It definitely was the last straw. He was always supportive of me. I know Kylo called me worse, but Kylo was human trash and Finn was my best friend. 

No, it's that I am now devoid of friends, except Virago. But she has to keep a close eye on Stormwolf. 

I fought time after time, and had also faced rejection by another group of heroes. Maybe it's also that I am used to murder. But, honestly? Those rapists could ruin the lives of so many innocent people. Every single one I killed saved many who did nothong wrong.

And I enjoyed every single death of those abusers.

But, right now? I also want someone to just talk to me. 

**Third Person POV**

Back to the headquarters of Stormwolf, Finn and Poe are playing chess. 

And the latter wins once more. "Checkmate!" 

"Damn it! I was so close!"

"Don't feel bad. I outsmarted one of the best chess players on Earth. With a little help from Q. While our souls were at stake. You are good, I just happen to be Poe Dameron."

"And I love you for it, bro."

Meanwhile, Emily is cooking chicken. Leah approaches her, holding her pet.

"I am going to recruit a friend. Finn promised her he would help her with her abusive husband." 

"I suppose you two are going to kick the abuser's sorry ass and help the woman carve her own path, take back her life?" 

"Well, that's what Stormwolf is about, Emily!"

"What's her name?" 

"Alix. She is a powerful woman. She can change towards two shapes, wolf and falcon, and she is also mentally strong by herself. However, her abusive husband wants to make her weak, submissive and spineless. He keeps her out of fights, he physically abuses her, he tries to make her a breeder and says it's her only destiny."

"That's awful! I can't believe that imprint made me accept the man who scarred me and controlled me. I want you to succeed and can't wait to see her! Though, wouldn't her having two forms make you redundant?" 

"Not really. She has no super speed and her wolf form needs some training I will generously provide.

Having similar skills never make anyone reduntant, Emily. There is always a little difference between the abilities of two people. Don't think anyone believes you are useless because you can cook and not fight. 

And besides, apart from powers, there are personalities. Every single life is valued."

Meanwhile, Little Finn is hugging Leah's thumb in affection. 

Leah continues. "Finn had castrated her abuser and promised her to go back and let her join our cause. Today he will go back, with my help of course. However, Little Finn might be in danger. While he has helped save us, I want to keep him safe. I trust you, Emily." She gives her pet mouse to her cousin so she can take care of him. 

Little Finn makes a disapproving squeak.

"I mean, Emily is also a caring woman!"

"Squeeeeak."

If Finn was there, he would say it means "but she isn't you, Leah."

Meanwhile, Finn is trying to Force Heal the comatose Nutty Poet. She was a great friend and warrior, and Finn didn't see her recovering from the icicle. Sadly, Virago has even less experience, even though she would jump at the chance to learn Force Heal. And Master Toni... Finn could never forget him. Without Toni, Cairo would have been destroyed and Poe could have been killed by the Hydra.

If only Finn wasn't so stubborn, so stupid! He was still angry at Rey, and because Force Heal reminded him of her, he refused to learn it. How many more lives could he save if he wasn't consumed by anger? 

"Rey... I hope you have truly changed your mind. I hope you can come back." 

He thinks that only for a few seconds, before his fear of him being treated the way he was by Rey started emerging again.

Leah arrives, her wooden stake and her titanium crowbar ready. "Finn, baby, it's time for our mission!"

"Yes, my love."

After kissing, the two leave the headquarters. 

"Leah... let's fill a promise. I will become for Alix the Finn Duncan's brother never was."

"I mean, you compare... yourself, who are a hundred times the man my ex was, to that rapist who had your name, my race, combination of our abilities, and a personality that is the opposite of what both of us stand for!"

"Hey, you know, people have compared me to abusers. Unfavorably."

"Some people see color and power, not hearts. And I knew killing Alastor would not change that. But we have each other, Finn. Remember, you are loved."

"You too, Leah."

Leah shifts into a wolf and growls to Finn.

"Come on, it's time for the mission. What are we waiting? Ride me!"

"With pleasure."

They don't know someone is watching them.

As Finn is on top of Leah, he mentions that Alix told them about a genocidal tyrant, Shaine.

"Good thing I have the Force. I am not letting the tyrant to get away. If they don't let us kill him, I will use the Force and off the fucker."

He can read her thoughts and knows she responds with "Got it".

Earlier, Rey has spotted a man abusing a woman. "Don't worry, this will not take long, bitch. Stop struggling."

She remembers the vision. She had seen someone assaulting a woman and defended him. When the woman slaps the rapist, he is about to stab her. 

Rey is not going to heal him and make the girl apologize. No, she is going to the other end. She closes her eyes. She uses the Force... and she rips the abuser's head off. "I love rapists. Whatever I do to them, I can sleep well later."

Ten minutes later, the headquarters of Stormwolf are in danger. Because Palpatine found them due to a mole among them. 

Virago sees who wants to come inside.

And simply lets her in. 

"Hello, Rey!"

"Thank you, Virago. I am here to look for Finn."

"He left earlier."

"Oh well. It's still time to meet the rest of the squad. Maybe someone will know where he is going."

She goes to the kitchen uninhibited, not standing out. After all, she is a friend to one of them.

Where she hears Emily.

"Don't worry, little one. Finn and Leah will return soon."

"Excuse me... I want to know where they are going. I am a friend of theirs and want to know."

"I don't really remember."

The mouse hides behind Emily. 

"Don't worry, Finn, she is friendly."

"Oh, the mouse's name is Finn too? Lovely!"

Rey reads Little Finn's mind.

She sees that he is Leah's pet mouse, that he is named after the ex-Stormtrooper, that he helped Finn escape once from a vampire, that he loves Leah and prefers her from Emily...

"Oh well... Leah stole my Finn, I will steal hers. After all, if she cared so much about you, little guy, she wouldn't leave you behind with... Emily, right?" She managed to also read Emily's mind.

Emily grabs a frying pan. "I don't know who you are, or what truly happened, but I will not allow you to steal this little mouse!" 

Rey extends a hand. "You will let me take the mouse. I just feel lonely and want someone to talk to."

"I will let you take the mouse. You just feel lonely and want someone to talk to." 

With the Force, Rey manages to pull and pick up Little Finn. "Don't worry, little one. I will keep you better company than Leah ever did."

"Squeak!"

"Oh, don't be afraid. You see, I am lonely... and I just want someone, _anyone_ to talk to me. Leah made a good name choice. You are almost as adorable as the man you are named after. Almost." 

With the mouse at her warm hands, Rey gets out of the headquarters. Virago stops her.

"Rey! You know this is Leah's pet."

"I do. But I am all alone and want someone to keep me company after everything I have been through. I know you understand my plight. I just... I just want to have someone to talk to!"

"You are right." 

And Virago lets Rey leave.

As Rey leaves, she pets her new companion.

**A few hours later, in a dead tyrant's palace...**

Finn and Leah are with a woman, who has cut off her abusive husband's hands.

"This is to make sure you no longer hit women. I am not killing you, Duncan. But I want you to remember that we are over and that I have people who truly care about me. Get out of my sight."

Duncan is pathetically standing on his knees.

As the three leave, he gives one last glare at the woman. "You will not survive without me."

"I will not live with you."

"You..."

Finn turns and stares straight into his eyes.

"Threaten her once more. And you will get some more of your true love."

Duncan is terrified. 

"Well done, Alix" Leah comments. "You made the right choice. You stood up to your abuser before it was too late. This alone shows how strong you truly are.

We are an organization that stands up to racists, abusers, rapists and demons. Interested?"

Alix had experience with all four kinds of those. She accepts and also chooses her place there, with the encouragement of both founders. 

Finn gives her a fistbump. "Well then. Welcome to Stormwolf, primary scout Alix! I am happy you also decided your position! Keep standing up for yourself and other innocents."

"I will. Always."

"So, where do we go now?" 

"Let's go at our headquarters." 

Finn rides Leah again, while Alix follows behind in her falcon form.

"...And then Leah and I were doomed to a watery grave, but our true leader, in spite of not being a founder, Poe Dameron, used his spaceship and attacked the giant Umi-Bozu with his blasters and Proton Torpedoes, killing it."

Finn reads her thoughts.

"Yes, we have torpedoes of protons. And again, Umi-Bozu is a colossal water monster with tentacles."

He reads her thoughts again.

"No, Alix. Not all of our enemies could pack a punch. One of the most dangerous ones was Nessie, who had no power, but her money and influence gave us a lot of trouble. Good thing she was not a master strategist and it was simply a spoiled brat. No, we did not kill her, she deserved humiliation and not death."

"Kee-kee-arr?"

"Oh, the strongest enemy we defeated? Alastor. I still don't know how the fuck we beat him. Both Leah and I have far more abilities than those you have seen, and that guy nearly killed us both. And there was nobody to help us. But in the end, our battle was going to be legendary."

A howl later, Finn continues. "Yeah, Leah remembers very well the beating she gave him. Though I landed the final blow myself. Though now we are simply saving people in need, we want to take a break after killing such a powerful and vicious creature."

Alix asks in the animal's voice what are the hobbies of the two.

"Leah over here is fond of anime and gaming. She also showed me how to play games. I am a fan of books, stargazing, and shooting games. And riding horses or wolves."

Without any problems, they all manage to reach the headquarters. 

Leah is cheerful.

"Hello, guys, we succeeded in the mission easily! Say hello to the new primary scout, Alix!" 

However, her smile fades when she notices someone is missing. Usually her pet mouse is one of the first to greet her. 

"Little Finn? Where are you?" 

Emily rushes to Leah. "Bad news, Leah. Someone got inside our headquarters. She seemed friendly, but she controlled my mind and then kidnapped your pet mouse because his name was Finn. She said you stole her boyfriend or something and she just wanted the mouse to talk to." 

"Please describe her."

"She was a white woman. I couldn't recognize her hair, as she was wearing a hood, she was slim and had hazel eyes. She was surprisingly non-violent for an intruder."

Finn and Leah recognized her and they made the same guess at the same time.

"Rey."

Leah gets frustrated. "This is my fault. I should have spent more time with my pet. I am going to save him. Meanwhile, I wonder if somebody let Rey in. Don't worry, Emily. She Mind Tricked you, it's not your fault."

Alix coughs on purpose. "Who is Rey?" 

At her hotel room, Rey is laying on her bed, Little Finn close to her.

"You love Leah so much, and yet she leaves you behind for some missions. Maybe she does want to protect you, but does this mean she underestimates you? That she is pushing you away? 

Who knows? I made those same mistakes once. 

I will tell you, Leah and I aren't really much different.

Both of us hate and fear one thing.

Being lonely."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ Here ](https://das-sporking2.dreamwidth.org/1662803.html?thread=42963539#cmt42963539) is how Alix was recruited.
> 
> Alix is from a story known as "Shapechangers" which would have done a good job if it focused on some anti-racist elements, but it was actually racist in practice, with rape apologism and insulting caricatures to Native Americans. She is a strong protagonist who is wasted due to bullshit around her, and deserves better than a racist captive fantasy.


	4. The Spy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn and Virago have a talk.
> 
> Meanwhile, Poe discovers a second Galactic Empire, which even calls itself a benevolent police state, and decides to perform a sabotage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year once more! I hope you like this update!

Virago is alone, creating a cardboard Finn. Right now, she is painting the cardboard. "I hope this turns out good. Finn deserves a gift like this."

And, just as she finishes the cardboard, Finn appears.

"Woah! Is this me? It looks awesome!"

"Oh my Stars, thank you, Finn! It's made for you and you only!!!" 

"Thank you so much, Virago! Few people did such things for me! Anyway, I was looking for you everywhere."

Virago's heart freezes. Does he...

"Leah is not in a good mood. Little Finn always comforted her, did his best to make her not feel alone. He is her only fond memory she has from when she was imprisoned. She loved cuddling him, it always warmed her little heart.

I wonder, what do you think about Rey kidnapping her pet?"

"What she did wasn't ok."

Finn, however, was reading her mind. 

"I know what you are thinking. You feel bad about Rey, huh? Because poor Rey is so lonely and she needs someone to talk to. You are also thinking that I should give Rey more love and that she deserved to have a pet so she has company."

That makes Virago freeze completely. "No, please! I just want you and Rey to become what you used to be, is that so wrong?" 

"I figured you just want me and her to be as happy as possible. I also figured you wanted to bridge the gap between us, Virago. I aknowledge your intentions are pure, and in fact, I am recently having thoughts about forgiving Rey, even though I still love Leah."

"I also love Leah, but give Rey another chance! Please!"

"You know, Virago, you are pretty lucky. If you spied for the Black Legion instead of Rey, I wouldn't be so kind to you. But now? I feel no anger at all. However, Leah is not going to be as forgiving as I am about you being a mole, so I will keep this a secret until Rey attempts to actually kill anyone of us. 

I like both you and Leah and don't want you two to fight."

"How did you figure it out?" 

"Rey had Force Healed you from your PCOS, you said. I don't see any reason for you to not be kind to her. Also, you were the one most in favor of us two reconciling. You also went behind to fight that Dinolfos and killed him. This means you were hiding something, but it wasn't you being in the Legion. Finally, it was your duty to be a guard when Rey barged in. Good thing it was Rey and didn't want to kill anyone.

Again, I am going to keep it a secret so you don't get ostracised by everyone else. Your intentions are more pure than the consequences are destructive. However, if Rey goes too far, the entire Stormwolf will learn the truth. Judging by how you act, Virago, you are also able and willing to talk sense into Rey. I want you to help her out of the Dark Side."

"Thank you."

"Also, to something less important, I love this cardboard. If you built and painted this yourself, it's pretty impressive."

"Yes, I did. Did I tell you about my passion for art?"

"No."

"You see, I love painting and drawing, just like the Poet. I might not be able to use my paintbrush for combat, but I love to do so when we are free of missions."

"That's great! Anything else you like?" 

"Books. Lots of books."

Speaking of books, Poe and some of the troops are reading some.

"George, what are you reading?" 

"The tragedy of Ganondorf Dragmire the Powerful. He could have been a great king, but apparently his arrogance made him a monster."

"Leah and Embry told me about the tragedy. They had this myth to scare children. However, apparently the Volturi confirmed it was a lie, because there wasn't anything superior to the vampires.

I, as a General, see this myth as a reason not to let my authority go to my head."

General Poe is reading another book, about the heroic tales of a benevolent police state. 

"So, apparently, the Unicornicopia Empire presents themselves as superior to everyone else, and wants to defend the rest and expand their influence because they are the strongest.

I mean, power should be used to protect the weak, but this sounds like not letting the weak to stand up for themselves and feels like oppression under the pretense of safety!" 

"Apparently they have prison planets for those who were mocking the government. And they brainwash them into agreeing with them."

"They also always flaunt how superior they are."

"Finally, Alix desperately wants to be in a mission, she still has issues from Duncan not letting her stand up for herself."

"Duncan?" 

"Her abusive ex."

Little do they know, they are not going to be alone in this mission.

Because Jannah is currently in a diplomatic mission with that Empire and their Captain of the guard, Shaina.

"So, Shaina, let's make this clear. You want us to dismantle our whole army, us who defeated the First and the Final Order, a galactic threat, for good, so your Starfleet can protect us?" 

"It's for your own good! Maybe your forces can join us as a secondary unit!"

"A secondary unit? Listen here, lady. General Finn and I led some of these men so we would not have to kill civilians in the name of a murderous Emperor."

"Where is that General Finn?" 

"He is on a planet out of this Galaxy called Earth. He told me he personally eliminated a great threat there."

"A threat? He sounds like a true warrior. And to leave you as his second-in-command, he must trust you, which means you are also great."

"True. I got the place even before he learned I was his sister. Together, we stopped a planet-busting ship by just riding horses... and that ship controlled a colossal fleet of other planet-busting ships."

"Interesting. Starfleet could use people like you."

"How about we join forces as equals, as allies? You might face similar evils as us."

"Yes we do. We do our best to confront evil at all forms. I would love to, but... honestly, I am not the true authority. The Grand Ruler, the absolute authority in our empire, would not accept that. He refuses to be helped by anyone not involved in his Starfleet, he will only accept when you join his forces as cadets."

"So, we will basically have to serve a selfish monarch. I refuse. I refuse to dismantle our forces, I refuse to serve your army, and I refuse to give you even a square of the planets belonging to the New Republic, or to this Galaxy in general."

"You will regret this, human! You are going to need our help against the forces of Darkness! Are you absolutely sure you will reject my offers? I was being so reasonable! We are extremely strong and fast, our Starfleet will manage to fight off all the gangs plaguing your Galaxy with relative ease! We just want to help!"

"No, you just want to put us under your military, Shaina. Our forces are capable by themselves, and I would accept an alliance on equal terms, but you want us to just submit to your forces. Get out."

Shaina storms off. "Jannah, you will eat your words one day. Grand Ruler is not going to let it slide! However, I am not going to hold it to you. You didn't hurt me that much. If some powerful monster is too tough for you, Jannah, I want you to beg me for help. Starfleet serves the Light, and we will always answer."

"We are all people who stood up to oppression by ourselves. We do not beg, but we do accept help."

"Again, I would like to be an ally to you. Possibly even a friend. But the Grand Ruler? Oh, he does not want friends and sharing. He takes what he wants."

Meanwhile, in a certain hotel room, Rey has just taken a shower. Having lived in the desert, she is used to hot water. In fact, she enjoys it. 

"Nothing better than a nice, warm shower. I love water, I really do."

She puts her pyjamas on and senses Little Finn with the Force, trying to escape.

She manages to catch his tail with her foot and picks him up with both hands. "Where are you going, little one? You know, I just want someone to talk to! Don't leave me! Please!"

Having lived with Leah, the mouse understands the woman perfectly. "Squeak!"

"No, I won't push you away or treat you like you are garbage for showing concern over me! That creature was not me. And even if it was, I am a strong, independent woman now. And I realized true strength does not come from acting like everyone who loves you has to be pushed away.

The truth is, my little pet, that for all the power in the world, for being the next Chosen One, having killed Palpatine himself... I still do not feel truly victorious. I feel as if I am on Jakku again. Wanting someone to truly love me. 

There was a voice in my head saying I should abandon my friends, my responsibilities, everything, and leave alone in the desert because I lost Kylo, as if he didn't bring misery and destruction to me and my friends.

But after I washed my mouth and soul from that thing? I realized that voice did not want my own good. Finn and Poe should realize I wasn't truly myself. Because if I always made so bad choices, I would not survive in the desert, not without my Force abilities.

Finn does suspect something, but he is too hurt and also too much in love with your mistress to forgive me. Well, nothing I can't manage. I hope he will forgive me. But if Leah has manipulated him so much... then I will have to save him from her. I will have to remove her from the equation. Then Finn will finally see the truth."

Little Finn is trembling from fear. 

Rey's expression softens. "So... I wonder, how does Leah treat you? What do you love the most?" 

"Squeak! Squeak!"

"Oh, she cuddles with you? That's great. I also need a hug!" Rey makes Little Finn cuddle with her and rest on her chest.

After petting him for a minute, Rey asks him what he likes to eat. Then she goes to buy some cheese.

"I honestly hope some half-wit sexist tries to attack me again. Or a monster. Except they are probably afraid of me right now. Good. Who knows how many will be saved."

Back to the Stormwolf headquarters, Virago keeps painting. "He forgave me so easily... if only he could forgive Rey like that... I feel bad about both, to be honest. Why couldn't it be easier?" 

Poe has prepared two armed transports and seven X-Wings. With him will go BB-8, Gray, Kallie, Q and Alix, as well as some soldiers. 

"Heroes of Stormwolf and the Resistance! After long struggles, we got rid of powerful foes and saved a lot of innocents. We were the spark that lit the fire and is burning the Black Legion to the ground. 

However, we recently discovered another tyrannical empire. Which keeps political prisoners in prison planets. Do you know why Finn and Leah managed to inspire you? I do. Because they saw injustice around them, affecting not just them but everyone else, and were some of the people who would not stand up for that. And they worked to dispense justice. That's why Alastor feared them, and why they managed to take his head.

I am not different. When I see an injustice, I can't just sit and do nothing! We will free those political prisoners, we will stop this injustice. Let this be... the next Fall of Volterra!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you like Shaina? And Starfleet? 
> 
> Would you do the same in Finn's place? 
> 
> Liked Jannah's return? Or Rey's thoughts? (Seriously, she would abandon living because the person who made her the saddest died? Anyone who would try to make Rey do that is malicious.)
> 
> I hope you do want to see Poe's raid!


	5. Raid in a Prison Planet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poe's squad makes its first assault against Starfleet. Alix finds the chance to prove herself. Finn and Leah stay to deal with Rey and talk about themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here it is. The first battle in this fic. Including some surprise Star Wars characters.

"I summon forth the mystic glow! UNIFORCE!"

A humanoid white winged unicorn fires an extremely powerful beam at a Rathar that was stunned by his allies and atomizes it completely. 

"I bet such big beasts scare those of the Galaxy that refuses to dismantle their army and have ours. Starfleet is far stronger than they think."

"I wonder how they can say no,  
if we can give them such a show."

"I will say. They probably think we are hostile. Last day, when Shaina got rejected by them, she told me the army there took on similar empires to us. However, I believe they will realize, after we help them against the monsters, that we are the strongest and that joining us as a unit is beneficial to them."

"They think they can take on the strong,  
I agree, let's prove them wrong."

"That's true, Rhymey. But to be honest, making them listen to you for 24 hours is also a good way to make them join Starfleet."

"Good thing you know my skills, Lightning,  
But I prefer us to prove ourselves fighting."

"I agree. Let's get some monsters!"

Lightning Dawn, the leader of the best squad in the entire Starfleet. A warrior who embodies his empire's qualities, which include belief in himself, strength and determination. 

He has made his duty to help others in need.

Now he sends his squad to fight monsters in the Galaxy, so they can protect civilians.

But, elsewhere, in a prison planet, Poe and his fleet finally manage to reach it. And they realize _why_ the force is called Starfleet.

The propaganda of their emperor said hardly anything about starships surrounding the prison planets. Poe always found that to make no sense. 

But now he sees that Starfleet has indeed a lot of spaceships. 

"I think we can take them, but we are heavily, heavily outnumbered." 

One of the ships stops them. "You are not in our ships. Code?" 

"12345?" Poe asks.

"Yeah, some of our superiors are so stupid they believe there is air in space and flowers aren't living beings. But nobody is THIS stupid.

Get' em, boys!"

The fleet has huge advantage in numbers. 

However, Stormwolf has a Poe Dameron. Poe dodges some shots from the enemy blasters with barrel rolls and retaliates with his own blasters. In every five shots, four blow up an enemy fighter.

Poe manages to blow up ten ships in a row. Some starships release metal bugs that swarm his X-Wing. His blasters destroy a few, but the rest scatter and get on top. But BB-8 gives them such a strong shock that they are all destroyed. Except one that stayed behind. The electricity of BB-8 will take some seconds to recharge, but he still has his torch and singes that last one.

One of Poe's wingmen manages to destroy three enemy ships. "Seems like they have quantity over quality. But the planet is covered in an energy shield!"

"Fire at those shields! I don't think blasters will do a thing! Try torpedoes!"

The wingman fires torpedoes and the shields are still intact.

"We must find the generator if we want to get to the prison planet! I hope it's not inside the planet itself!"

"Me too!" 

However, the defensive spaceships aren't nearly as strong or fast or durable as the X-Wings. 

Poe manages to blow up three more. "I think the TIE Fighters are harder." 

But for one ship that falls, three take its place. Poe uses his Proton Torpedoes and destroys two at once, before dodging the blasts of a third one. 

The shields of the armed transports aren't developed enough, however, and some Starfleet fighters manage to get close. The transports take them out, but one has its shield down from enemy fire.

One of the X-Wings manages to destroy seven Starfleet fighters. Then the pilot chases another one... only to discover he is surrounded by three more after getting lured away from the others. He destroys one more, but he is shot down and his ship explodes.

Eight ships remaining, against a whole planet.

Poe fires his blasters and takes out a few more enemies. However, a shot nearly grazes his ship.

He lures four ships towards the armed transporters, and the transporters shoot all four of them down.

Two X-Wings unload their proton torpedoes in a focused point of the shield. They fire every single one at the same point... until thy have only a couple each.

"Come on. Maybe we can do it. Maybe this is the last thing needed for the shields to fall. May the Force be with us!"

They bet it all. Everything or nothing! 

Nothing. The shields are still up and with no dent at all.

"Damn! Forget brute force, it's not working."

"We must find a generator."

Meanwhile, in the Starfleet ships, the pilots are doing the best to stop them. 

"Good thing the shields are meant to last. Like Brass Bolt, that misguided meathead, these people have no idea what evil they are releasing in the name of freedom!"

"Indeed. These prisons have some of the worst criminals in the Multiverse, and they deserve whatever happens to them."

"Some of them don't even have hearts."

"Some are just misguided idiots."

"I mean, they say lies such as that Grand Ruler is a tyrant for saying we are the superior species!"

"And that he does brainwashing to innocent citizens. These are all lies made by those stupid mockers."

"I mean, who would hate us and why? We are the strongest, fastest, best in the Universe. The most powerful species."

Poe proves the last statement wrong quickly by shooting them down with no effort.

He manages to blow up eight more enemies, but two shots graze him. 

"Damn it! They are too many!"

One of the others manages to find a shield generator. Sadly for the attackers, it's from the inside of the planet. 

The pilot reports to Poe.

"So, what will we do? Give up? In this prison, there might be a lot of actual criminals!"

"Never! We must find a way to free the political prisoners. And only them."

"But how will we know..."

"We will find a way."

Meanwhile, on Earth, Finn and Leah are cuddling in their bedroom. 

"You know, Finn, I still want Little Finn back. I should have spent more time with him."

"It's not your fault. Rey wanted to get back at you for allegedly stealing me."

Finn kisses the Native American woman in the forehead. Then he keeps talking. "Except I came to you, for you, in my own accord. You have no idea how happy, how loved you make me feel."

"I do, sweetie. You tell me so often. And why wouldn't I? Rey did not appreciate your kindness. She wouldn't let you save her skin if it meant to salvage her ego."

"I believe she has changed, though."

"Even if she has, will you just throw away everything we did for each other for her because she stopped being mean to you?" 

"I do want to forgive her. But no, I will not do what you fear. You do not deserve this to happen to you again. Nobody deserves this."

Finn and Leah kiss each other in the lips. "It's nice to feel appreciated" both of them think at the same time.

Virago talks to Rey via hologram.

"Rey, Finn discovered me."

Rey starts getting worried. "What did he say or do?" 

"He forgave me because I had good intentions. He also says part of him wants to forgive you."

"If he wasn't stuck with Leah, he would have opened his eyes and realize the truth. I always knew he loved me. But... that Dyad clouded my mind. I was not myself then. And if I was... I don't know. I wanted to protect him, but there was also a voice telling me he will surpass me and that is terrible. 

And just before I broke free, he had to go to Earth and find the bitch! Damn, if I was faster, this could have been solved so much more easily... 

I just want us two to be together. Is it so bad?" 

"He wants you to appreciate him, though. He believes it's not an easy task for you, due to your history."

"Things change, Virago. Runaway Stormtrooper one day, Jedi the next day. Scavenger one day, Jedi the other, a defender of criminals the third, fuck you Snoke, Kylo and Dark One, Jedi once more the fourth."

"Honestly, I believe the Dark One either is Kylo or used to be in league with him."

"Not impossible. Then again, the true face of evil could be anyone. Even Palpatine, some Vampire Lord, or even Rose. Literally anyone."

Meanwhile, another X-Wing is shot down by the Starfleet defense forces. Poe has too few wingmen left. He is about to retreat, there is no way they can win. 

But one of his pilots spots the shield generator. "Brute force will not work. But I will make one last bet. Poe, do you remember Holdo?" 

"Yes."

"Well, she was an Admiral. I am just a soldier."

"What do you mean? We are too few! I can't replace you, buddy! No! STOP!"

The pilot does not obey Poe. He jumps into Hyperspace... and gets through the shield and the generator, destroying it and giving his life. Or at least part of it, and the shield is active in the other half of the planet. The generators were two. 

But still, this gap is more than enough. 

However, from the land, the cannons fire at the attacking Resistance. And the pilots are becoming too few. From the seven, now there are only four.

Poe gets hit by a cannon, and BB-8 starts fixing the damage. One of his wingmen manages to protect him from a ship during repairs.

"We still need reinforcements!" Poe tells his forces. 

However, in his comm, he hears a familiar voice. "You have got them!" 

And Jessika Pava emerges through hyperspace, as well as a hundred X-Wings, Y-Wings, A-Wings and B-Wings. Also, Lando and Jannah, as well as Chewbacca, emerge in a freighter. 

"I would prefer to use the Falcon, but you see... Rey took it for herself."

"So, this is how she found us."

"Wait, she is not with you?" 

"Kind of."

The freighter fires its cannons and eliminates six Starfleet ships. 

Jessika and six other X-Wings dive at the broken part of the shield and take out a few cannons with no casualties. 

Poe's morale increases as he, too, takes out two cannons on the rooftops himself. He fires at the walls of the prisons, but the steel is too strong for blasters. Not for Proton Torpedoes. 

Weakened by Poe's heroic resistance, Starfleet can't fight off the reinforcements. 

"They are too strong! We should not engage with too tough enemies!"

"Retreat! Retreat!"

And a lot of the ships follow the secret tactic of the Hare, which is fleeing. 

"Let's get to the main door!" Poe orders and fires at the cannons. He takes out one and distracts the rest, allowing the Y-Wings to unload their torpedoes at them. The defenses are finally cleared. From the reinforcements, just one Y-Wing has been destroyed by cannon fire, and an A-Wing by fighters.

As Poe, the freighter and the transports land, the rest patrol the place to check for any enemy reinforcements.

Poe, BB-8, Jannah, Chewbacca, Gray, Alix, Kallie and Q barge in with some former Stormtroopers.

The guards outside attack with their blasters, forcing them all to retreat and hide in some bushes.

Q creates a decoy and sends it at the guards, who fire at it. 

Meanwhile, the rest ambush the guards from the side. Alix turns into her wolf form and charges at three soldiers of the Unicornicopian Empire, biting them all and defeating them. Then she dodges a blaster bolt and lunges at the fourth enemy.

Gray shoots some enemies dead with her Gunblade. The guards are actually durable enough to take two good shots before they die. One runs very fast and manages to reach Gray, but she uses her Gunblade to slash him thrice. 

The former Stormtroopers make a line of fire and manage to shoot a lot of enemies dead or unconscious. Some of them, seeing themselves in these guards, people who believe they are good or just follow orders, have set their blasters to stun.

However, all the guards have their blasters set to kill, and manage to take out some former Stormtroopers. Jannah sees an Unicornicopian shooting two of her men dead and fires an arrow, hitting the enemy's head.

Q uses his UV Blaster and manages to pierce some soldiers, two or three at each shot. He turns invisible after a blaster bolt nearly grazes him. 

Some guards have shields and spears, and also wear helmets. These charge head first with their spears. Poe throws a Garlic Bomb and stuns some, then he shoots them dead with his blaster.

Gray uses her mind control and makes a few surrender and rethink their ways, then she shoots a spearman who was about to kill a former Stormtrooper. 

A humanoid unicorn throws her spear and strikes a former Stormtrooper's heart, killing him. Another shoots her in the shins, making her unable to walk. The humanoid unicorns have some advantages. One manages to strike Gray by ramming her with his horn, but Alix bites his neck and kills him. 

Then she turns into a giant bird and fires feathers as projectiles at the enemies on the ground. The barrage takes out three targets. Then she makes some circles and spins to avoid arrows and blaster bolts. She finally dives at full speed and knocks an enemy out with her beak. An archer manages to strike her wing and injure her. She grabs his shoulders with her falcon claws, flies high and drops him on top of a soldier who was about to shoot Jannah.

Chewbacca uses his Bowcaster and fires at the enemies, sending them flying and killing them in one hit. Three former Stormtroopers get shot dead by the unicorns, but Chewbacca rushes there and avenges their deaths. He manages to shoot one more enemy before another one approaches at a speed just lower than sound, punches his gut and headbutts him.

The force of these two hits could kill a human. But Chewbacca merely gets angry, grabs the guard's right arm, rips it off and clobbers him with it. Then he punches out another cadet in a few hits. He draws his bowcaster again and shoots a soldier who had just punched Poe himself.

Kallie smacks two enemies with the Spirit Net. Then she fires some Ice Eggs, but they don't kill the Space Unicorns. However, they weaken their armor so much that regular bullets get through. Then Kallie uses her speargun and pierces another soldier.

After Poe takes out the last guard, a big anthropomorphic unicorn who is similar to a German officer appears, wielding a double-barrel laser shotgun. 

"My name is Iron Lock. Nobody gets inside unless arrested!"

Longbowmen come from the rooftop and aim at the intruders. The first shots manage to kill four former Stormtroopers before Alix fires a barrage of feathers and starts dashing towards them.

Q covers her by using his sniper rifle while invisible and shooting the longbowmen one by one. Those focusing on him quickly are forced to pay attention to Alix and her dashes, which prove to be destructive.

The former Stormtroopers fire at Iron Lock, but he shrugs the lasers off. 

"Starfleet training. We do things people find impossible. This allows us to be durable enough to withstand lasers."

He proceeds to punch one of them so hard he manages to actually kill her. 

"And be this strong, too."

But Gray seeing even her Gunblade is useless here, decides to use her powers instead. 

"You will stop attacking us right now."

"I will stop attacking you right now."

"And you will tell us the code to the gate."

"And I will tell you the code to the gate. It's 'Friendship is Failure'. My good people, you may pass."

As Alix and Q have taken out all the longbowmen, the former changes in human form. 

Then they all enter the fearsome prison.

The warden, known as Steel Balls, calls Admiral Lightning. 

No response.

"Damn it! He is probably fighting a monster elsehwhere."

Steel Balls decides to call someone else. "Emerald Shaina! An army or terrorists attack the prison planet! Help us!"

Shaina boards her big ship, the White Savior. 

Behind her, her elite guard, all armed with electric spears, steel shields and blasters, do the same. 

Back on Earth, Finn and Leah are eating the nice steak Emily Young has cooked.

"Leah... sometimes I feel bad for those animals I have to eat."

"It's ok. Finn, don't you kill in self-defense? If it helps you survive?" 

"Yeah. And I told you, I regret taking out those poor Stormtroopers, but I hardly had a choice. Though I could say the same for when Kylo ordered me to murder civilians and I refused."

"Food is survival." She strokes his cheek, making him blush. "My love, I will never, ever scold you for eating or not eating meat. I just think it isn't a crime."

"I wonder" Finn asks "is it ok to eat meat with your bare hands, like you are doing right now?"

"I am a werewolf. I have eaten meat with just my teeth. I suppose you learned very strict manners in the First Order, huh?" 

"Yes. Captain Phasma used to beat us up if we spilled drinks and we had to uncover only our mouth on the table. Conversations were discouraged because the Order did not want any friendships to be formed.

So... what tape of deleted history do you want me to show you?" 

"Either the one where you fight a Knight, because I don't think you would see Rey and Kylo fight for Chewie and do nothing, or the one where you expose Phasma in front of her troops. If you ask me, that sounds cathartic."

"In that vision of the battle you never had with Aro's men, you apparently sacrifice yourself. Since that vision was taped, why would you give your life for those vampires?"

"Because they might have been snobs, they might have been bullies, but I would give my life to defend my family still. They had killed my brother, apparently, and I asked Alpha Pedo to come back. He ran away faster. 

I don't think this imprint was from the Dark One. He must have some standards. And if it is, then I wonder why anyone would follow him."

Finn puts the tape with the Knight of Ren first.

"Aaaand start!"

"Rey! They've got Chewie!"

Finn charged with Rey's staff, as he saw Kylo open to strike and end the war.

However, the other Knights of Ren weren't just for show. 

Without any nod from Kylo, a Knight attacked Finn with his broadsword to stop him from killing his master and saving Chewbacca. 

Finn had to slowly step backwards as he barely blocked the swings. He managed to jump backwards and shoot the Knight of Ren, but the bulky man used the Force, deflected the shot and with a Force Push he sent Finn flying into a rock.

Then he rushed for the finishing blow, but Finn sensed him. The Dark Side user was too fast for the human senses, but Finn managed to react on time and parry the strike. Then he used both legs to kick him backwards and struck his head with Rey's staff. 

Due to the helmet, the Knight of Ren did not die, he instead went for a stab and managed to scratch Finn's left arm. Then he went for a spin, but Finn blocked it using both hands. The next clash ended in the weapons locking. 

"I have fought creatures like you in the past, Knight."

"I had formal Jedi training. The Force is with you. But you are not even a Padawan yet, Traitor."

"Yet I wounded your master on Starkiller."

Neither seems to be able to overpower the other fighter. They both pushed each other back and then traded a kick. With a small Force Push they knocked each other down. Finn looked at his hands for a moment.

Then both sensed the Dark Side taking control of Rey, as she casted powerful Force Lightning and destroyed the ship she was supposed to capture. 

"Rey! NO!"

Finn could feel the smirk under the Knight's helmet.

"It seems like our stalemates favored our side. I hope we do have a rematch."

The Knight retreated, his duty fullfilled.

Finn closes the tape. 

"History doesn't give the Knights not named Kylo justice. But if not for that Knight, Kylo would have been shot dead on the spot. I didn't care if Rey would be angry at me." 

"So, basically, you didn't help because you couldn't."

"I should have said I have the Force. If I had some training, I could have beaten the Knight before it was too late. All I could do was to feel things. I first used it unconsciously on Phasma, then on the vampires, then on that Knight. But I started controlling it on Exegol."

"That was what you wanted to confess to Rey?" 

"History does say so, but why would I hide it from her? I mean, that was before I realized an evil was influencing her and poisoning her mind. I would have to hide it just from the evil, except if Rey was abusive. She could have treated me better, but she never became like Kylo. I don't think she would hate me for having the Force, ever."

"True. So, what were you hiding?" 

"That I loved her. I could not confess, because she was busy chasing after 'Ben Solo'. But I did love her. I did my best to defend her. Even put my life at risk. I knew she would not love me back and I didn't know why. I felt I wasn't good enough. Or so I thought..." 

Finn is barely holding himself from crying on Leah's chest. In the end, he does.

"Leah, thank you... for loving me!"

In Starfleet's prison planet, the White Savior arrives.

Jessika and her fleet attack it, recognizing it's an enemy immediately, but a hangar opens and releases twenty fighters. Jessika still manages to damage the shields with her proton torpedoes.

An X-Wing falls to the turbolasers of the White Savior.

One of the ships is blown up by a B-Wing, but another shoots the B-Wing down. 

The capital ship lands on the prison planet, as these pilots deployed are actually the best in the Empire and can match Jessika's forces. 

Shaina, dressed in full armor, steps foot on the planet.

"I recognize this technology from our diplomatic mission. So they are trying to release prisoners? I don't think we can have them as allies. As Grand Ruler told me, since these humans try to release criminals...

Their entire race is evil. 

I am not so sure, they seemed honorable.

Well, I will do what I must."

And she steps in, looking for Jannah.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder if anyone is unfortunate enough to get where Starfleet comes from. It's from a fic series, which has some bad morals and is very fight-oriented (not that I am better here...). It interests me because it could become good if it was the television series it tried to be and the malice inside was removed. 
> 
> And the fights had a little more variety. 
> 
> Lightning, the guy who killed the Rathar, is the lead there.
> 
> I originally planned to put this arc after "Hell Hath No Fury", but then I found that this could be very, very, very relevant to the main plot, plus I get to show new character Alix and supporting leader Poe kicking ass! Why is it relevant? You will see in this subplot's end!
> 
> Yes, plural in "stalemates". The Knight included the one between Rey and Kylo. Why did I write that tape? Because it's one of the few I made up. The other, with Phasma, exists on YouTube. 
> 
> TROS Knights were disappointing, I wanted to see them do more than capturing Chewbacca, look cool and fight and die against their own master, the man who turned them Knights in the first place. So, here I decided to have one of them save Kylo's life. (Plus, I justify Finn's inaction. He would definitely shoot the fucker if TROS had no plot holes.) 
> 
> I hope you liked the scene, it was mentioned before in my stories.
> 
> Yeah, Finn used to love Rey in TROS. He thought first that he wasn't good enough, then that she was a jerk. He now suspects Rey is innocent, even though he still prefers Leah so far.
> 
> Did you like the performance of Alix? Or Poe?
> 
> Who do you think the Dark One is? 
> 
> And yes, Leah doesn't support Finn easily forgiving Rey. She has been in his shoes and doesn't like it when Rey makes Finn sad, plus she loves him. Are you for or against Finn forgiving Rey?


	6. Stormwolf against Starfleet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poe's forces have managed to enter the halls of the prison planet. However, Starfleet proves to have aces up its sleeve.
> 
> Rey and Leah encounter each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Over halfway there! For this chapter, I promise that a lot of side characters will shine!

Poe Dameron leads the charge inside the prison. He slides across a corner and quickly shoots two guards unconscious with his blaster. A third one throws his spear at the young General, but Dameron ducks, shoots the guard in the knee and then knocks him out with a hard cross. 

Gray mind controls two jailers to let the others pass, but a third one appears and grazes her with his blaster. The dark-skinned woman fires back at the guard with her Gunblade six times and kills him. 

One of the former Stormtroopers manages to take out another guard. Jannah slides to the left to avoid a shot and fires an arrow at a guard, piercing his light armor and taking him out.

A guard approaches with twin light sickles and blocks everyone's way. 

"My name is Rapid Razors. Iron Lock and I are the best guards in this planet. I will not allow you to free any miserable, vile, dangerous criminal!"

Jannah fires an arrow at him, but he cuts it with a swing of his sickles. Alix draws her twin knives. "I've got this!" She lands a flying kick at Razors and makes him run away.

"I know what he is doing. He will lure me to an open place. It benefits me like it helps him. I will take the bait."

And she chases after him. She guts a spearman who gets in her way with a knife and advances forward.

"Quickly!" Poe orders. "To the cells!"

Q summons five Spydor Mines, which he had improved. As they keep advancing in the corridors, Q sees too many corners. He sends the mines to scout ahead and ambush the enemy first.

Tracking heat, the four manage to connect with some Starfleet guards and blow them up, but a fifth guard reacts faster than any human could and she fires at the last mine, blowing it up safely. However, Gray jumps towards the guard and manages to shoot her right arm, incapacitating her. As she is stronger than a human, the bullet doesn't kill her.

Outside, the fleet battle is still raging. Jessika manages to shoot down three enemy ships, one of whom belonging to Shaina's aces.

Then she goes for the White Savior. While Emerald Shaina and her elites managed to deploy, the ship still gets on air to take down the enemy ships. Its turbolasers destroy two A-Wings which were defeating the fighters of Starfleet with little effort.

The White Savior has quite thick armor, enough to withstand a barrage of Jessika's blasters. However, the ships escorting the Savior are far weaker and fall in one hit.

Meanwhile, Poe Dameron encounters three more guards. He doesn't want to kill them, he believes they are probably victims like the Stormtroopers. He sets his blaster to stun, throws a Garlic Bomb, and as the guards cough uncontrollably, Poe shoots all three of them.

However, Emerald Shaina's voice is heard.

"Jannah!" 

As an Unicornicopian casts a magical spear, which Chewbacca blocks by catching it, Jannah tells the Wookie to go back. She realizes serious enemies are chasing them, and she needs to deal with them personally. 

The guard Chewbacca is fighting manages to land a punch, but Chewbacca rips his arm off and with a jab to the jaw knocks him out. 

Then the two warriors stand on a corridor and wait for Shaina and her elite guards. 

Alix and Razors are duelling to a standstill. Alix gets wounded in the left shoulder, but lands a jab at Razors' right one. Then the two trade extremely fast blows until they manage to headbutt each other. 

Having Starfleet training, Razors recovers first and gets in a position where his legs are bent, and the sickles close to each other. Then he jumps and makes an aerial spin attack with his sickles. Alix only had time to observe how the attack works, not to avoid it, and she gets slashed across the chest. 

"Ugh... you won this round, Razors... that was an impressive attack..."

"I call it Whirlwind of Wonder, woman. What's your name? I haven't ever confronted such a good opponent, not since I was captured by a Dark Lord known as Titan. You deserve to be called by your real name."

"The name is Alix, Razors. I was once captured by a warrior tribe where the leader was an abuser and rape apologist. He did everything in his power to not let ne shine in battle, he said my destiny was to breed warriors and nothing more. That I was destined just to have sex with him. But with the help of my new friends, I took back my life.

My skill with knives is very good, but it seems I met my match on you... fortunately, knives are not my limits."

Alix turns into a savage wolf and glares at the humanoid unicorn. The unicorn flinches, but regains his composure quickly and throws a sickle like a boomerang. However, Alix is faster as a wolf and manages to dodge the ranged strike. Then she comes close and manages to bite her enemy as he recovers his weapon.

Her wounds start healing slowly as she pounces at her enemy, breaking his armor and even drawing blood.

However, the Starfleet soldier is not giving up. He manages to strike her face with both of his sickles and catches his breath. Then he starts unleashing rapid strikes at the wolf, but she dodges all of them with relative ease. 

She lunges at him, but he jumps to the left and prepares the Whirlwind of Wonder again. Alix recognizes the move from the way Razors positions himself and gets as far away as possible.

When the aerial spin is performed and misses, Razors is left exposed and Alix charges at full speed, landing multiple savage hits at him. She even bites him in the arms, making him unable to use his deadly sickles.

"Y... you cheated."

Alix turns into her human form.

"Everything is fair when your life is on the line. You fought well. You probably believe you are doing the right thing. I will spare you, you were the best warrior I have ever fought." 

"I am?" 

"Yes. And I do have some experience."

Poe gets at the main control room of the prison planet. He isn't a hacker, but Q and BB-8 know a lot about hacking. The security system is activated, and two droids with guns emerge. Poe sets his blaster to kill and destroys one by shooting it in the head three times, but a bullet grazes his left arm. He throws a detonator and the second droid gets vaporized.

Q puts the code. "Friendship is failure". It works, as Iron Lock was Mind Tricked when he told it, and Q finds a second code. "I suppose it's 'Friendship is pointless' or something." He puts that code too and, to his surprise, it works. 

Then it's BB-8's turn to invade the system and disable the alarm. As he does so, he proceeds to open a cell.

Unfortunately, the inmate released is not here for badmouthing the government, he is a murderous Space Pirate who chokes a guard and takes his blaster.

Poe and Gray rush to the cells to see who got freed, with Gray mind controlling guards to show them the way, but they realize their mistake when the pirate comes towards them.

"We are idiots. Gray, first we stop this criminal, then we see where exactly are the brainwashed innocents, so we can free just them."

The pirate fires at them, but Poe is more agile and shoots him in the face, dead. He then sees the dead guards everywhere. 

"Damn... we fucked up more than I thought. Well, time to learn from our mistakes."

He finds an overweight pegasus saying "Starfleet good, I bad" repeatedly. 

"Gray, the name of the cell."

"405. The name of the uniform is ACR-0000". 

Poe calls Q "Tell BB-8 to free ACR-0000 from the Cell 405."

BB-8 does so.

Gray gets him out of the cell, and Poe checks the other cells to see who might be innocent. 

Alix sees an Y-Wing getting shot down by an ace pilot. She turns into her bird form and flies to confront the spaceship. She fires feathers like a hail of arrows from her wings, which damage the enemy fighter but don't shoot it down. The enemy pilot retaliates with his blasters, which graze the right wing of Alix and burns some feathers. 

Alix winces in pain before diving to avoid the next shots. The ship chases her, but she manages to keep herself safe by constantly changing altitude. However, her legs get grazed because the pilot figured out her pattern. She will evenutally get a direct hit...

But she changes her strategy. She now goes in a circle before turning and attacking the ship with more feathers. The pilot dodges the first barrage and Alix fires some more. Only two find their mark, and Alix does something else after getting grazed once more.

At full speed, she rushes at the ship. 

The pilot, wondering how stupid she can be, locks on her and fires his blasters. However, Alix dodges so fast she vanished right as the shot got towards her and now she turns her beak into a drill. She manages to do a hole in the left wing of the fighter and then shoots it down by firing feathers in point blank range.

Another pilot is about to blast her, but Jessika hits the enemy before she can fire and makes the ship explode. Alix lands safely on the ground and changes into her human form. "It's nice not to be treated like a doll of porcelain."

The raid seems to be going well, but it's far from over.

Chewbacca and Jannah know they can't defeat Shaina's guards if they surround them. So, they lured them in a narrow corridor and went to the point where it ends. Now Chewbacca uses his bowcaster to shoots at the elite guards coming one by one. He avoids blaster bolts and thrown spears by taking cover, and his bowcaster brings down even these heavy enemies with ease. Some of them lose their shields the first time and need a second shot before they are beaten. 

Occasionally Jannah covers the Wookie with her arrows and manages to defeat one of the guards, but Chewbacca is the one who takes care of the rest.

Having lost most of her guards that way, Shaina realizes she has to change her strategy. If Lightning and his squad of champions were here, they could make short work of the enemies, but now they are away fighting big monsters. And unlike that squad, which focused solely on quality, the grunts have just quantity. 

"I should be thankful, Jannah. The Grand Ruler doesn't let me kick ass often."

She changes her armor to an emerald one and waits for Chewbacca to reload. She orders her forces to retreat and go from somewhere else. Then she readies her shield and her free hand glows.

"Emerald Barrage!" 

Multiple emeralds are fired upon Chewbacca, who manages to vaporize a few with a bowcaster shot, but at least five gems manage to strike the Wookie before he can take cover. 

Jannah's mouth opens. "CHEWIE! Leave, take care of the other enemies. This is Shaina, and she is mine!"

Shaina creates a spear. "I found you, Jannah! Now you will see my army is superior to yours. And why you should have allowed Starfleet to replace your Resistance. You see, we are advanced, a civilized race. Superior to all, but we don't flaunt this in the faces of everyone." 

"Do I need to say something to refute this?" 

"Yeah, your monster did a good job against my guards, but I am not even the top fighter in Starfleet."

"Neither am I."

"Jannah... please entertain me."

The two bow towards each other before Jannah fires a quick arrow to the Captain of the Guard. Shaina effortlessly blocks it with her shield. Then she does the same to two more arrows.

"Hmmm, bow. Maybe I fight in the wrong distance."

With the shield up, Shaina advances slowly towards Lando's daughter, who fires another arrow in futility. She was aiming for the legs, but Shaina simply lowered her shield and kept advancing.

Jannah seathes her blade and runs in the opposite direction she sent Chewbacca at, with Shaina on her tail. The dark-skinned former Stormtrooper starts looking for a melee weapon, any melee weapon. She knows Shaina wants to fight in close range and will not be helpless if she succeeds.

Meanwhile, Chewbacca encounters the remaining guards in an open space. He shoots one of them dead, but gets grazed by a blaster bolt. He shoots the guy who nearly got him too.

Poe keeps checking and freeing prisoners.

Or, more correctly, ordering BB-8 to free them. The small orange droid has completely hijacked the computers of the prison planet with a little help from Q.

Q covers the droid from enemies coming to reclaim the computers. 

Poe gets in front of another cell as Gray defends those who have already been freed. "I am not insane! Get me out! I just think Starfleet is militaristic and doesn't need to expand its forces to other planets by acting like saviors!"

Poe turns to his comm. "RCT-683, cell 786. Free her."

Then he gets to the next cell. He sees an alien. Gray forces him to tell why he is imprisoned. He reveals he shot his wife for cheating. Poe responds that cheating is awful, but murder is not justified. 

He passes from a lot of people and checks them to tell BB-8 whom to release. One was a dictator overthrown from his planet. "No."

Another was behind protesters who complained that all races are equal. "Yes."

Another was framed for rape. Even after Gray made him tell the truth, he insisted he was framed. "Yes, and I will give this guy a hug."

Poe finds an insectoid alien. "Why are you here?"

"For being an Insecto. Grand Ruler says we are all destroying planets to show our power and for enjoyment. While there are, or rather were, a lot of us who were that bad and we believe in chaos, I personally found destroying planets for no reason stupid. And too cruel. But I was imprisoned for being in a race that opposed Starfleet."

"Holy shit."

Meanwhile, Kallie and some Resistance Marines take out a lot of guards. Kallie uses her new speargun from afar and her Spirit Net for anyone who gets close.

Then they go to a lake and see there is a secret underwater entrance. "Clever. Not many people can enter from there. But we can, boys!" 

She dives in and finds the entrance locked by a metal plate. Not easy to break, unless... She shoots ice eggs. Three eggs and the plate freezes, becoming so fragile a Marine smashes it with his armored hands!

They all enter the secret entrance and find a guard who throws a ball of steel at them and manages to break a marine's armor and wound him. But the armor saves his life as it slowed the ball down. 

"My name is Steel Balls. And I never miss."

She throws another ball and wounds another marine, making him bleed. Kallie charges at her with the Spirit Net, but Steel Balls kicks her hard in the face and then throws a steel ball at her stomach. Kallie is wounded severely by that, but she is now ready. When the next ball comes, the white woman catches it by spinning her net and keeps spinning it. 

Steel Balls is confused until she sees her own projectile coming straight at her thrice as fast as she throws them! She doesn't manage to dodge it, and due to the speed the projectile is even more painful. The tough guard gets injured and stunned. Kallie knocks her out with her speargun and a single shot.

The squad finds out there are big and small monsters imprisoned. Among them, a troll, a giant slime, a few changelings and even a Hinox. 

Then they get above one of Shaina's elites, who wisely ran away from Chewbacca and is now beating up a former Stormtrooper. He is about to stab her with his deadly spear, but Kallie jumps above him and drops with the Seal Belly Flop. The guard is crushed. 

"The Power of the Seal is not just for being one of the best swimmers in the planet." 

Chewbacca is still winning against the enemy guards. He manages to blast the penultimate one with his bowcaster, sending him flying across the room. The last one charges as fast as he can and lands a jab at the Wookie's back. Then, as Chewbacca turns, the guard punches him several times, knocking him down. But Chewbacca recovers, catches the next two punches and rips the enemy's arms off. Then he roars in triumph.

Jannah has found an old, rusty long knife on the floor. She awaits Shaina from a corner, and stabs her with it. 

KLANG! 

The knife breaks, but Shaina is still shocked by the sudden strike and Jannah proceeds to punch her several times in the face, stomach and chest. The attacks push Shaina back slightly, and when Jannah brings the Captain's face to her right knee, she is dazed for a second. Not wanting to lose the advantage, Lando's daughter throws four punches. The first two connect, but the fourth is blocked. 

Shaina smiles at Jannah and throws a hard left cross at her face, which strikes home and draws blood. Then she slams her face into the wall several times.

"I told you, we are the best army in the Dimensional Universe!"

"I think such a thing would be called the Multiverse..."

Shaina smashes her face two more times. "You should have accepted my offer for protection. We would help you get rid of all the monsters plaguing the lands! You wouldn't need to lift a finger as we fought off any threat in our way!"

Jannah vomits some blood and struggles to get up. The moment she does, Shaina gives her strongest cross in her face and launches her across the entire corridor. 

Shaina is about to approach, only to see Jannah smiling. As Emerald Shaina gets too close, an arrow gets through her armor and wounds her. 

"What? No person without any powers ever wounded me! How can an inf..."

Jannah shoots another arrow point-blank. And another. And another. 

"There is no such thing as a superior race. We can change, we can always be and do better. Nothing is set on stone, Shaina."

Shaina draws her emerald spear and stabs Jannah just as she shoots her a third time. 

Both fall on their knees. 

Shaina smirks. "I know. I pretended to underestimate you. You are one of the best challenges I ever had. However, for all your great skill, you are weak."

She gets up first and thrusts her spear forward, but Jannah barely avoids it, grabs it and gets up using it. Then she knees Shaina in the ribs, lets go of the spear and lands a spin kick. Shaina responds by landing three hard forward kicks, drawing blood. 

Jannah manages to grab Shaina's leg and throw her to the ground. Then she twists her leg, making her yelp in pain. Shaina manages to equip her shield and smack Jannah in the face twice. Then she breaks free of her grip and pushes her down. She throws a right punch, but Jannah tilts her head and dodges it.

Then she throws her away and gets at a distance. She fires an arrow at Shaina, which is blocked by her shield. So are the next arrows. 

Shaina knows long distance benefits the archer. However, the Captain of the Royal Guard is no pushover even then. She seathes her spear and her hand glows. "EMERALD BARRAGE!"

Jannah barely dodges it by changing corridor, but a gem grazes her shoulder. She stays in the corner, as the Emerald Barrage is too hard to avoid with no cover.

As Shaina recovers from her attack, an arrow strikes her arm, making her wince in pain. The woman approaches with her shield in front of her, as fast as she can. Jannah knows she can't ambush her now, so she runs away to find a better position...

But the elite Starfleet member fires another Emerald Barrage before her target can change corridor again!

Jannah tries to duck, which allows her to avoid the upper emeralds, but the shots are too fast and she is struck by seven of them in the back. They get through Jannah's light armor, drawing blood. 

"I had not a single power handed to me. I simply trained, and trained, and trained hard. I know you do so too, you showed impressive skill. But I also know when to use my powers. 

I respect you a lot, brave warrior. Starfleet needs people with your courage. But we have some values you don't seem to agree with. For example, it's unwise to fight against enemies you can't win."

Jannah can sense Shaina walking towards her, her shield up. Her right hand is holding the spear. 

Finn talked to her about the Force, that it exists, that he feels it. She remembers. She remembers him using it against the Final Order, demolishing the fearsome Sith Troopers with ease. 

Now she knows what he feels. 

She lowers her head. "You are the most powerful adversary I have faced. And I like your honor. 

I bow."

Shaina smiles genuinely. She did it! She showed that Starfleet is superior! Jannah will be by her side, and so the empire will expand even more! Grand Ruler will be so proud!

Jannah stares the humanoid unicorn in the eyes. 

"To nobody!"

And suddenly, the ground is lost beneath Shaina's feet, as she is launched backwards by some unknown power! She finds herself unable to block or dodge it! 

And her back crashes into the end of the corridor, heavily damaging both the wall there and her emerald armor. 

"It was for your own good, Jannah. I will teach you to have some gratitude and accept your saviors!" 

Her hands turn green again. 

"EMERALD BARRAGE!"

Jannah is prepared. She uses the Force once more and deflects the first gems. They strike other gems, forcing them to change track, and in the end Jannah manages to stop the attack.

Shaina loses her composure for real. "Nobody can just deflect the Emerald Barrage!"

Jannah manages to shoot an arrow in her forehead, exploiting that moment of panic. 

The helmet saves Shaina's life, but the arrow still manages to slightly pass through it and wound her.

"Good fight, Jannah. But Starfleet teaches something more. To retreat if the enemy can't be beaten." 

And the Captain of the Guard runs away. 

Jannah is too wounded to fight anymore, the adrenaline catching up to her.

As the outcome of the raid is sealed, Leah gets on a mission all by herself. She has spotted a gang of white supermacists who are about to storm a ghetto and burn it to the ground. 

She turns into a wolf and hides in the bushes found in the field outside the ghetto. She spots their leader raising a cross.

"In the name of God, we will purge these criminals who dare taint the master race, as we white people have been chosen by Him, and those corrupt Jews control everything so they can eliminate us because they fear our true might!"

Leah feels her intelligence getting drained.

If she doesn't act, a lot of innocents will die. She lunges faster than the human eye can see, with the Seven-Sided Strike, and kills seven Nazis. The others shoot at her, but she manages to effortlessly dodge all bullets, lunge at her enemies and bite them to death one by one. 

She even goes so fast that, when she appears to get hit by two sides at once, it's an afterimage and the two Nazis shoot each other.

She charges at one more Nazi and rips his leg with her teeth. Then she mauls another one who was about to shoot her. 

The fascist leader raises his cross again. "This wolf is from the forces of evil! Have faith, we have God in our side!"

Suddenly, he can't breathe, but nothing is touching him. He is filled with agony until he falls dead. 

And then an invisible wave pushes a lot of Nazis backwards. 

Leah is puzzled for half a second. She told Finn to stay behind. Even if he did come here, he isn't that strong in the Force!

Then she realizes she is looking at a white brunette woman. 

Who wields a yellow double lightsaber. She lifts the Nazis off the ground and slams them, or launches them, or she charges with her saber and cuts them down to size.

Leah peforms another Seven Sided Strike and kills seven Nazis, while Rey fires Force Lightning to zap three of them. Then she draws her blaster and shoots four of them dead.

Leah changes to human form and unleashes a savage barrage of punches at two Nazis, managing to create holes through them. 

A Nazi thug is about to stab her, but the Native American grabs his arm. 

The Nazi spits at her. "You are a minority. Go back to your country."

"I am a Native American. _You_ go back to your country!" She knocks him out with just a headbutt.

Rey jumps and kicks one Nazi with both legs, then she throws her saber like a boomerang and cleaves five of them at once, and finally she decapitates another Nazi.

Leah lands a Sonic Overdrive at a muscular terrorist, puching through him and knocking another one unconscious due to the shockwave of sound. Then she defeats another one with rapid kicks. One tries to batter her with his crowbar, but she breaks it with her bare hands and uses her own to take him out in one hit. She finally punches the ground and creates a quake, knocking a lot of enemies down.

Rey uses the Force to push and choke a lot of Nazis. Then she sees one coming at her and electrocutes him. However, one shoots at her from behind. She senses it, turns with a bored expression and with the Force sends the bullet to wound the shooter.

She finally Mind Tricks four fascists to shoot each other dead. 

After the two girls triumph against the Nazis with no scratch or damage at all, they see one last opponent before them. 

Each other.

If looks could kill, neither girl would survive.

Finally, Rey speaks first.

"Do you expect any gratitude for what you just did? You know, I could have handled these guys alone."

"Me too. They aren't anything special."

"I would still thank you, for kindness. But you, Leah, deserve none. You took my best friend away from me. You turned him against me!"

"You have done that yourself, Rey. I just wanted him to be happy. That's why I was willing to initially accept you two as a couple. But no. You did not make him happy. You made him feel how I felt with my own family. Even risking your life and using violence just for yourself to feel good and him to feel useless. 

I have been in his place. But, honestly, the difference between you and that person is that you are a Chosen One, and he was a scumbag who hit on babies."

"I believe you told me about that person. And I refuse to have any association with him."

"I am sorry, I shouldn't have done the comparison. But the thing is, Rey, that you hurt Finn too much. I want to be what you never were. A compassionate woman who puts him before herself. Because I know I will be his first priority."

"You have no idea. You have no idea what I have been through."

"Finn does have, and that's why he thinks of forgiving you. However, I don't. Because you have done other things. Like stealing my pet mouse and brainwashing my cousin."

"You mean your Little Finn, Clearwater? The one you were leaving behind on missions with Finn? What use was he to you, Leah? You already have the big, human Finn. The mouse is just a placeholder for you."

"You are half-right. Leaving my pet behind all the time, with Emily, was a terrible mistake. I will not leave him again. I was a jerk. However, he was never a placeholder. Not for me. I gave the mouse the name because while I was all alone in a prison, he kept me company, we loved each other. And we still do. 

He gave me fond memories, and I gave him that name because I had made it a symbol of happiness and friendship for me! You are using him to..."

"Keep me company? Leah, I suppose you have felt lonely a lot in your life, being belittled by a lot of people for no reason. And yes, while you were in prison. And of course, they blamed you for it. Like you now blame me. 

You see, since taking Little Finn, I made sure to talk to him, care about him, and do my best not to be lonely ever again. After a soulbond with an abuser, I ran from my true friends. Now I just want to compensate."

"Imprints aren't an excuse to avoid consequences. Because people did far worse with that excuse. And what you have done to me recently was all you! I want my pet mouse back. I miss him a lot."

"I am sorry. I can't do that, old friend. We did some things together, Leah. But I am afraid we are no longer friends. One week. In one week, in New York, meet me in Central Park."

"I will, Rey. Nobody hurts my friends."

And the two part ways, turning their back to each other.

Rey can hear the malicious voice of her grandfather.

"The next time you two meet, kill her. Show Finn you are more worthy of him."

"I don't need you to do so."

In the Palace of Twilight, Lord Zant has turned his throne room into a temple with statues of himself.

A small vampire with short red hair enters the room. She has gold eyes, pale skin and an expensive white dress. She would like to come practically dancing, but she can only enter with her head lowered.

"Welcome, Alice." Zant greets her. "I have observed our enemies. Finn, Rey, and that awful bitch named Leah. Yes, the bitter harpy you know so well."

"The one who caused the Fall of Volterra. My lord, how can I help defeat our enemies?" 

"Leah is going to fight a chosen one. Her name is Rey, the granddaughter of one of the most dangerous and evil adversaries of the Great One. I want to do nothing, as they would ally with each other just to take us out. Tell me... if I indeed do nothing, what will happen?" 

Alice knows Zant only values her for her visions. But she can't lie to him. He helped the vampires a lot, he will find a way to see the truth, she is too proud to lie about her visions. Both her pride and her life have to be protected.

She concentrates and sees into the future.

And she sees a ray of light clashing with a stream of clear water. Then her vision is filled with blood. 

She can even see the girls themselves charging at each other, Rey with her saber, Leah with her wooden stake. Rey's eyes are more yellow than usual.

She sees some more things, but not clearly. She can just see violence.

When Alice's vision ends, she turns to Zant.

"O mighty High General Zant, I can confrim your decision is wise. The conflict of these two women will only be resolved with blood. Someone may die. Someone will be severely hurt."

Zant almost bursts into a maniac laugh, but keeps his composure. 

"Oh ho. This is great. This is truly great. Whoever dies, I win. All I need is to wait. The Great One will be so pleased!"

"I am sharing your happiness, my Lord."

"They don't know we are still everywhere, even though Alastor's death was a major setback. I made sure my spies will never fight Stormwolf unless ordered to."

Back to Starfleet's prison planet, Poe blows a wall up with a detonator and sees three jailers savagely beating up an anthropomorphic stallion. 

"But I tell you, Starfleet is fascist. Do you really believe there are good police states?" 

"This is benevolent for us." 

They keep beating the stallion bloody.

The stallion is on his knees. "Ugh... this is what I am complaining about. You feel you are superior to everyone but your own kind, and think you are free to treat us like this for no reason!"

"Shut up! We are superior, but we don't rub it into your faces all the time!"

"You released so many criminals just to make us look bad! You are a misguided idiot!"

"No... I think you are misguided."

Poe can't watch anymore. Wordlessly, he draws his blaster, set to kill, and fires at all three jailers. All three shots strike home, they don't even have time to react.

The General, as all three guards lay dead, approaches the prisoner. "You got guts to talk to them like that. I have been through torture myself, and I couldn't just let you suffer."

Poe hugs the stallion. 

"What's your name, brave prisoner?" 

"I am Brass Bolt. Freedom fighter. Enemy of oppression and racial discriminations."

"Poe Dameron. General of the Resistance."

"The Resistance?" 

"Yes. Free people from another Galaxy. We fight against oppression, arrogant jerks who abuse their power and force their beliefs on others, and injustice in general."

"Great. Then we are friends."

After BB-8 frees the last innocent, he ignites his torch to show his success. A guard storms the room, armed with a mace, but the orange round droid tazes him, allowing Q to fire his UV Beam through him.

Starfleet no longer stands a chance. Shaina and what's left of her rainforcements have fled inside the White Savior, which has defended itself... partially. Its shield is down, half of its cannons destroyed, and a Resistance Commando who tried to board it only defeated two guards before getting shot dead.

Jessika fires her proton torpedoes and manages to crack the hull of the big ship before it retreats for good. Then she takes out five fighters attacking her. 

Alix throws a knife at an interrogator and manages to hit him in the chest. Then she sees Starfleet retreating.

"We did it! We managed to win!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brass Bolt is another underrated character. He stood against Starfleet and their ideals, and paid the price for it. There is another such strawman who was like Brass, he was saved in this chapter.
> 
> I hope you liked... Alix, Kallie, BB-8, Chewbacca, Rey, Leah, Poe, Gray, Q, Jannah! 
> 
> Opinions about the inclusion of Jessika, Jannah and Chewie?
> 
> Did you like Shaina and her fight with Jannah? Any other warden whom you liked?
> 
> Who is right? Leah? Rey? Both wrong? 
> 
> Missed Zant? Yeah, the Black Legion had its time to shine in the prequel. Rey and Starfleet are more on focus. What do you think about Alice's inclusion?


	7. Preparing for War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey is still haunted by her grandfater and his temptation.
> 
> Zant, after observing his foes, acts.
> 
> Starfleet declares war.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last "calm before the storm" chapter. I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> It has many moments for many characters, and preparation for battle.
> 
> I hope you like the interactions between the characters.

Leah returns to the Stormwolf headquarters.

As she spots Finn, she runs at him and buries her head on his chest.

She uses her enhanced senses and hears his heartbeat to soothe herself.

Finn hugs her. "Leah? What's wrong? You aren't wounded. You couldn't have lost to the fascists. What happened? Rey?"

"Yes, Finn. I encountered Rey. We fought the fascists efficiently."

"I would ask if she apologized and you are friends now, but you would not be half as upset. What happened?"

"Well... she is mad at me for apparently stealing you."

Finn chuckles bitterly. "Yeah, she is right. How dare you not be a bitch to me so she can look like the good choice?

Leah, as much as I want to forgive Rey, I can't get you out of my life. We have been through a lot together. Volterra, the Siege of Rome, Cairo, Forks, Boar News Tower. In all these, we kept risking our lives to help each other go forward.

You told me, you showed me I was loved, as something more than a friend.

Rey had opened a hole inside me, and I am actually willing to forgive her thanks to you. Because that hole was closed by you, Leah. You showed me that empathy is valued more than family, power and color.

If not for you, I would never become the Jedi I am."

A tear flows across Leah's left cheek. She continues.

"Thank you. But it was worse than you could imagine. In one week, Rey and I will go to the Central Park of New York."

"And?"

"We are going to duel. I want to break her face for everything she did to you and Little Finn!"

"No. Do not hurt her. Yes, she was not worthy of me chasing after her, yes, you are my priority, but I will not let you do this. I want her to be saved."

"You think this is enough? She kidnapped my pet mouse. She helped a criminal escape justice. She made you feel useless, even though you are and always were anything but. She hit you more than once, even in the middle of fights. While you were getting through a lot for being nice to her and others, she was rewarded for her wrong choices!

She probably did not recognize how valued you were until she lost you!"

"I want her to realize she was wrong. But I do not want her dead. She helped save the Galaxy more than once. Plus, she was probably manipulated. Rey is not like Bella, and if she was, Kylo would never get scarred, and Rey would not survive in the desert easily. Not even with the power she was handed."

"Yes, she says she imprinted. I believe her. But I do not want to excuse her. Maybe we should excuse pedophilia as well? You are not the only one who suffered because someone else imprinted! Think about me and what I got through!

Imprints have excused too much evil. Do not give Rey any ground, she will see it as an excuse to treat you as someone who doesn't know her, as someone she can just physically attack with no consequences.

If I don't fight, Little Finn, whom I stupidly had left behind, will forever be in her clutches, and Rey is going to kill me too!

I am sorry, Finn. But it has to be this way."

Leah storms off.

Finn stands alone when Virago comes in.

"Finn, did you tell them?"

"No. Did Rey tell you about Central Park?"

"What will happen?"

"Rey and Leah. They are going to fight to the death."

Virago stands there and can't respond for a minute.

"Virago?"

"No. No, this is horrible. Did you try..."

"Yes. I don't want either to die. Especially not for me. Yes, I know I am important, but I don't want to be responsible for this!"

"Don't worry, Finn. You are not."

"Tell Rey not to fight Leah. Leah means so much to me. And I don't want Rey to be hurt either."

"I will try."

"I know, Virago. And I appreciate that."

Rey herself is playing with Little Finn on her bed, poking his belly gently, or lightly petting his back.

She proceeds to grab him by the tail and dangle him above her open mouth for some seconds. But she is only teasing him and closes her mouth without eating him.

Then she puts him with his back on the bed, tickling his belly.

"You see, my little pet, I am so much greater than Leah. I feel horrible for her neglecting you so much. Don't worry, I will be twice the friend she is.

Leah took a lot from me. I am going to make her suffer."

Little Finn bites the finger of the giant, for him, Jedi.

Rey winces in pain, picks up the mouse with both hands and tightens her grip on him.

"You... "

When she sees she is squeezing too hard, she lets him go and Force Heals him. His size allows Rey to spend little to no life force.

"That's enough for now, my little pet."

As she places him in a cage, she feels a dark presence inside her mind.

None other than the Emperor himself.

"So, my granddaughter... you realize right now why I turned to the Dark Side. It gave me everything. It handed so many things to Maul and Kylo.

The Dark Side is the way of taking. By becoming my successor, you can always take what you want."

"But Anakin lost his love and friends by following you. You are full of lies, Palpatine."

"That was nothing compared to the power he got. I had a vision for Vader. He could surpass even me."

"You corrupted a Chosen One. You are despicable."

"So did the Dark One, Rey. I believe you should follow me, because I oppose him and will give you everything needed to crush him."

"And what if you two are the same? What if he is just another of your puppets to have fake enemies and pretend to be the victim? Like the Separatists?"

"So, basically my machinations involve me dying."

"Yes. You were planning to possess me after I struck you down. And also, you absorbed the Dyad he had made. Maybe that was your plan all along."

"Or maybe I just outsmarted him."

"Let's say the Dark One and you are enemies. Tell me one proof."

"I don't want you to be slave to a Skywalker. As an Empress, you can have whoever you want. He just can't say no. I have no problem to marry you to the man who stopped my fleet with the training my men gave him.

If Snoke or I could sense enough of the Dark Side inside him, he would become a Knight of Ren.

Tell me what stands between you and him, and I will show you how to eliminate it. Can't you Mind Trick him into loving you?"

"No. The Dark One lied I did so in Pasaana. Finn was momentarily taken aback by the Dark One speaking through me in a deep voice unlike mine, but he still charged to help me and was stalled by a Knight of Ren.

One, his mind can't be controlled even by me. Two, I do not mind control my own friends and allies, because I am not like you! So no, and no!"

"But he is not going to forgive you. You kissed the most evil Skywalker and left poor Finn in the dust. How are you sure he will just forgive you?"

"Virago tells me Finn is considering this."

"Then why doesn't he come kneeling to ask to be with you again? Maybe someone else holds him and stands between you two."

Palpatine shows Finn and Leah kissing, half-naked.

"You see... Finn trusts this woman, who is not even a true human, more than he trusts you. You can only get Finn over her dead body.

I can feel, I heard that you are going to fight her. After all, I live inside your head. That's great. Kill her. Kill her and show her head to Finn."

"I understand Leah has to be eliminated at all costs, but to show her head? Is she a trophy?"

"No. Your beloved Traitor is. By killing Leah, you will show you are the strongest and he will love you. After all, don't you value power above the way people treat you? You are more powerful than that worthless non-human, and so more worthy of the man you desire."

"The woman you are speaking of WAS NOT ME! It was the Dark One's puppet!"

"And what if it was just you? What if Finn now can't get you back? Won't the Force be a nice way to get him? If you let him rely on how he is treated, you will lose him. Strength is the only way to win him over.

That, or maybe you are just a second choice. If you off Leah, the first choice will be gone. He will no longer have to worry about breaking her heart and nothing will stop him for coming to you.

Plus, I doubt Leah will ever forgive you. Don't kill her, and you will be killed. Isn't it tragic, for a Chosen One to die to someone without the Force? She hates you. You hate her. Only one of you can survive.

She is probably poisoning Finn's mind, telling him you are Kylo's slut, that she is the great woman you could never hope to be, that you were abusive, that you don't even have the chest to compensate."

Rey's blood is boiling.

"If she says these, she is full of lies and a monster."

Palpatine laughs for a moment, but Rey's face softens.

"Though when Finn becomes mine... I will stop hitting him."

"And if he forgets his place?"

"I have struck him enough in my lifetime while he meant nothing bad. I don't want to do this, no more."

"You simply showed him who was the more powerful of the two. It is you, and it will always be you. After all, you killed me while I had the power of all the Sith."

"True. I am stronger than him. And that's why I don't need to act as if I am afraid of standing next to him.

You were a smart man, and would still rule the Galaxy if you weren't needlessly cruel."

"This is why you will only be cruel when you have to."

Meanwhile, back to the Galaxy, a family of Rancors drop dead due to powerful Uniforce beams.

Lightning Dawn folds his arms.

"We saved entire colonies of humans this day! Those Rancors thought they could terrorize and devour humans and aliens for their own sick pleasure to destroy, but they fell before the might of justice, belief and the Uniforce!

So many wild beasts, which could have devoured civilians, are gone because of Starfleet. We are superior to the misguided Resistance. The people must love us, because we proved ourselves again!"

"It had to end with me in pain,  
But now you don't need that to explain."

Rhymey had discovered Rancors could pack a mean punch and take more than three sword slashes. It was a hard battle, but the Uniforce of Lightning proved to be too much for the savage beasts.

"That's true. We fought entire species of destructive aliens, and even demons. These creatures were no match for us!"

As Starfleet celebrate their victory, the prison planet Poe raided is is a bad state. The shield is damaged, most guards incapacitated or dead, and all innocent prisoners are freed.

As the Resistance, led by Poe, returns to the Earth, and Jannah's forces return to the Galaxy, a guard comes out of hiding. He changes into his true form, a short green monster with one horn.

He activates a holographic projector and finds a vampire in the other line.

"I have a story to report to Lord Zant."

"Is it extremely important?"

"Yes. Yes it is."

In one of the Stormwolf armed transports, Gray sees ACR sitting on a couch, saying "Starfleet good, I bad" and "Why did I hit Skye" repeatedly, like a droid.

"What's his problem?"

Brass Bolt responds.

"This is Ace Ray. The martyr who inspired me. He was protesting against the government and that Grand Ruler was a conqueror and a tyrant, not a savior. He and the other protesters were mostly ignored, but then Ace decided to tell Rhymey, one of Starfleet's Vice Admirals to stop rhyming because he found it annoying.

Ace Ray's sister told him he was as villainous as dark sorcerers and demons for being radically against Starfleet. I have to admit, Ace beating her up was too far, but she was also kinda full of shit.

Ace was arrested with the excuse of hurting his sister. They could imprison him for that, or force him to apologize to his sister. Nah, it was just an excuse. They wanted to make sure he reforms for daring to oppose their fake god and brainwashed him, and told him how awesome their army is and how they were saviors and not conquerors... even though they present themselves as a superior race to others."

Gray clenches her fists. "This is not ok."

"It isn't. I tried to release these innocents before you did. But I made the fatal mistake of just releasing them all at once. I got arrested for terrorism, and they found the valid reason of freeing criminals, but it was completely by accident.

I heard they were chasing pirates and monsters for a year after this. Thank you for not repeating my mistake."

"We only succeeded thanks to teamwork and friendship. If not for Poe, BB-8 would do your mistake. If not for BB-8, nobody would be freed. If not for me, nobody would know the codes. If not for Mark Warmshot's sacrifice, we probably wouldn't get past the shields, these were meant to last."

After a minute of mourning him, Alix gets in.

"Hey! Don't forget me! I kicked the ass of a powerful warden and then took out a ship with my powers alone!"

Poe's voice is heard in the comm. "Guys, stop bragging. Not without mentioning how many enemy ships I took out."

"Well" Kallie remarks "You are the General for a reason. I found another way in and managed to ambush an Elite."

Q doesn't brag, because while he didn't do much up front, he knows how valuable his support was.

"Shame that the one who beat the big meanie isn't here. I wonder how Jannah feels, as she told us she beat the Captain of the Royal Guard by discovering the Force." Gray comments.

"She must feel great." a former Stormtrooper responds.

Q finally talks. "We could not win if not for our friendship."

Brass Bolt interrupts. "But Grand Ruler says friendship is useless and will not get you anywhere."

"He is wrong."

Back to Earth, Virago tries to make Rey stop from fighting Leah.

"Rey!"

"What's wrong?"

"I heard you and Leah are going to fight. And I want you to stop."

"Why, Virago? Leah took everything from me!"

"No, Kylo, Palpatine, the Dark One did. I am still by your side. I will always be. But... I want you and Leah to be safe. As much as I would want you to be forgiven and with Finn... Leah does not have to die."

"I will be safe. I can crush her with ease. She doesn't need to be safe. She is getting between me and the forgiveness I deserve."

"You do deserve it. You are a great woman. If you want to win Finn over, kindness is the only way."

"And he will remember me as the woman who ran from his kindness to Kylo's brutality. Finn will not just leave the bitch for me. Otherwise, he would the moment he saw I changed."

"But he does want to forgive you! He is against this fight!"

"He just wants to protect his little girl."

"Or he wants both of you to be safe."

"Maybe so. I think he still cares about me. You told me so.

But Finn and I had so much history, so wonderful chemistry. After all the times we saved each other, I don't want to be a second choice, a friend or a stranger.

You know, Palpatine told me to brainwash Finn. That's completely out of the picture, because I do not brainwash my friends. I am not a tyrant, not like Palpatine."

"No, you are not. Just remember. There are people who want you back in the Light. You still aren't like Kylo, who faked redemption and abused others.

If you saved him, who did not deserve it, what stops Finn from wanting to save you?"

"His family saved him, and I did that for his family. The part that still was me, anyway. You know what was the other reason. I love Finn, Virago. I failed him, and I want to make up for it."

"Fighting Leah is not the way."

And Virago leaves.

Rey hears a voice inside her head.

"You have nothing to lose. You always made the right choice. Whatever the Chosen One does is right. Even if they choose the Dark option."

One hour later, in the prison planet of Starfleet, the guards and shield haven't recovered yet.

Suddenly, out of the blue, Zant himself appears. Along with him, two hundred Reapers teleport, and Zant creates his Shadow Beasts. Five thousand Twilit Messengers, ten Twilit Bodyguards. He also summons two Phalanxes, each able to throw spears and create Hoplites, until fifty at once.

"Initiate Operation Blackbeard."

Zant had heard the news from the changeling with enthusiasm. He knew the best troops of Starfleet were distracted by monsters, and that the guards were too weakened by the Resistance to properly fight back.

He also learned that not all the prisoners were freed.

He knew exactly what to do.

With this army, he knows he can't lose in these conditions.

Starfleet has been taught not to fight an enemy they can't win against. They are too weakened. Too weary.

And Zant's army is too big.

The first barrage of the guards, consisting of spears and blaster bolts, does bring down two Twilit Messengers and a Hoplite.

The Phalanxes throw spears as the Shadow Beasts charge. The soldiers try to use their wings, but the Reapers ambush them and throw them to the ground. Some soldiers die to the Shadow Beasts and become more of these creatures.

It's a massacre and Zant hasn't even joined the fight yet.

The guards know they can no longer win.

They run.

Zant can't believe the enemy flees so quickly.

"Shoot them in the back."

The Reapers cut off all the escape routes with their teleportation. They even use the Force to hold the fleeing enemies.

A cadet sees she has nothing to lose and throws a hard cross at a Reaper, but he Force Pushes her, teleports behind her and cuts off her head.

However, Iron Lock, who had to be beaten with a Mind Trick, is not willing to run away. He charges at a Shadow Beast and rips it apart like paper.

Two more Shadow Beasts charge at him and try to overwhelm him, but he manages to push both away and punch them out in a few hits.

Zant watches him.

"A man who actually stands up to us. Interesting."

A Hoplite charges at Iron Lock, but the winged unicorn creates a chain made of iron, steals the monster's shield and punches through it.

But, seeing he is now fighting alone, he knows he will be overwhelmed if he doesn't attack the commander.

He flies straight at Zant, throwing his strongest punch. It's able to get through solid steel and is fast enough to strike a vampire.

Zant smirks and simply teleports away from the strike.

He emerges behind Iron Lock, having drawn his scimitars, and slashes at the big unicorn with both at once, creating an X-shaped scar on his back.

Then, before Lock can recover, Zant appears in front of him again and uses his left hand and scimitar to gut him.

The High General smirks. "You took more than one hit. I am impressed. But all good things have to end."

And he pulls his left arm back, sending the dead guard plummeting to the ground, where he is consumed by multiple Twilit Messengers.

After he falls, Zant's army storms the prison corridors practically uninhibited.

A jailer shoots frantically at the Shadow Beasts. He manages to land only one shot due to his panic, the first beast reaches him and rips him apart. Two more guards, brothers, are hugging each other in fear, and another jailer tries to fire an arrow, but narrowly misses her target. The Twilit Messenger lunges at her and takes her life.

The guards are running away. Some even drop their weapons and run faster. But they do not get far. The monsters are too numerous. Too powerful.

Zant himself walks among the ruins of the once mighty prison. He smells the flames his monsters created.

The changeling spy gave the High General the codes.

"Reapers, remember, "Friendship is Failure". Also, "Friendship is Useless". These are the two codes."

"Got it, my lord!"

A female winged unicorn holds a spear to stave the Twilit Messengers off. "Stay back! STAY BACK!!!"

One charges at her and gets stabbed for its trouble. However, a Reaper teleports behind the mare and splits her in two.

A stallion screams for his mommy as three Shadow Beasts dogpile him, while a mare yells for help, but gets slaughtered by a Twilit Messenger.

Zant reaches the cells, hovering over a hall of dead bodies and uses his magic to warp the walls.

He creates a message with burning letters.

THE RESISTANCE WAS HERE

The Changeling spy presses the codes to deactivate the security systems and free all the prisoners.

The criminals rush out of their cells, screaming.

When they see Lord Zant, they ask who he is.

Zant floats, his arms crossed. "I am Zant, King of Twilight, Master of Shadows, High General of the Black Legion. And announce you are all free.

If you all kneel before me, I will lead you not just to freedom, riches and power, but also revenge against this unjust system that never reforms you."

Most of them kneel. One of them, a Changeling, does not. He glares at the creature of the night.

"We owe you nothing! We are free now, and will do whatever we want."

Then he charges at Zant to punch him in the face.

With no emotion, Zant uses telekinesis to snap his neck. "Anyone else objecting?"

Some big monsters recognize him and urge everyone to bow.

The next day, Lightning and his squad have returned from monster hunting.

Shaina has reported the battle with the Resistance to the Grand Ruler.

Lightning asks to announce this to the public so they will be more prepared for the enemy.

Before him, a humanoid unicorn, with golden wings and three horns, sits on a throne. A legendary Tricorn, the Grand Ruler.

"No. We will say nothing.

Above all else, I want to keep my people happy. I know that, if they learn the forces of another Galaxy did so much damage to us, they will panic, worry about their lives constantly. And I do not want them to be afraid.

Plus, they have to believe in us. Belief is how we manage to stop all these threats. If we say anything about the fall of our prison planet, people will see us as failures. They will no longer trust us, our army, to protect them.

The people do not need to know about this defeat. If we are not trusted, the morale of our people will be crushed. Tell me, Lightning, did you do well in your monster hunting?"

"Yes, Grand Ruler. I killed a lot of monsters terrorizing the Galaxy you wanted to sign the treaty with."

"And they responded by attacking our prison. They are evil, have no gratitude. Lightning, don't spread the news about the raid, but do spread your success against the monsters. That failure of the raid wasn't your fault anyway, you were saving others that moment."

"Thank you, master."

"However, this Resistance has to be eliminated. I want you and your squad to train so you can retrieve the prisoners. A lot of them are killers, and some are mockers, who will lie about us. And remember, we should not get hated or people will be able to trust nobody."

"As you wish, Grand Ruler."

Three days later, Leah is training herself.

She attacks a punching bag faster than the human eye can see multiple times. It takes ten seconds for the bag to be sent flying, a hole through it.

Q brings her another punching bag. It's a special one he made of iron, including the two chains holding it.

Q had been informed about Leah's upcoming duel and supports her. He tells her she is a great fighter and that she can take on Rey.

Leah knows it. She wiped out entire vampiric covens, killed two Vampire Lords, and even helped kill an actual Archdemon. She doesn't care if Rey is stronger than her or not, she can still stop her!

This punching bag does not hurt her, in spite of being made of iron. Vampiric skins are harder, and Leah trained hard all her life to fight bloodsuckers.

The bag manages to withstand Leah's rapid fists, though it does flinch. It's nearly dislodged when Leah gives it a flying kick, but it comes back to her in speeds that could hurt a human.

Leah sees it coming in slow motion and, at the right time, lands a Sonic Overdrive... through the punching bag.

She is sweating. "I believe I did enough for today. I am satisfied."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to make conflicting points of view.
> 
> Who is right? Leah? Finn? Virago? Rey? Palpatine? Ok, maybe not the last one.
> 
> Opinions about Brass Bolt and his story? And Ace Ray?
> 
> Yes, I gave a name to the guy who rammed the tower. Because in Stormwolf, everyone is valued.
> 
> And... I finally got Zant to do something. Did you find him powerful? Opinions about Operation Blackbeard?
> 
> Also, yes, the Grand Ruler shows his face.
> 
> Are you in favor of or against his policy?
> 
> Next chapter, it is going to break loose.


	8. Lightning Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey trains herself for the incoming battle, and so does Leah.
> 
> Finn tries to stop both.
> 
> Lightning goes to Earth to retrieve the prisoners.
> 
> Finn will face a great trial.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it! The actual climax!
> 
> And one of my biggest chapters.
> 
> It's also Finn's greatest test so far.
> 
> I can promise you badass Finn and action!
> 
> Edited because I forgot a line I really wanted to put in, put some tags and fixed some mistakes.

Rey has gone out of her hotel room, using the Falcon to go to Patuxent River. She lands to a place full of rocks and empty of people and starts meditating and levitating with her eyes closed.

Around her, rocks are getting lifted. They eventually become many and make two spinning rings around her, as more stones come to join them every second.

As the two rings are becoming more and more dense, Rey uses the Force to sense possible visitors. Fortunately for her, nobody is here.

The rings become completely solid and with no blanks. Rey manages to float one meter and twenty centimeters high. She decides to break her limit by moving while in this state.

She knows she is the Chosen One. She will find a way to get up if she falls down. But most of the time, she doesn't fall down in the first place.

She manages to move while floating with the rocks.

She knows Leah does not stand a chance against her power and training. The Force favors the last Skywalker. Whatever the she-wolf throws at her, the Jedi will always find the power to counter it.

However, as Rey imagines her victory over Leah, her meditation is being shaken. Why is she losing control? The Force should let her meditate!

No, she understands what's wrong. And she changes her thoughts. She thinks of Finn coming back to her arms. Them embracing.

She thinks of him forgiving her. For everything.

For striking him on Jakku. She mistook him for a thief. Then she kept yelling at him for him taking her hand, even though that saved her life from the TIE Fighters... yet she said she always wanted to take Ben's hand, even though Kylo was using her and nearly killed her more than once.

How could she be that blind?

Yet she imagines Finn just forgetting her attitude and coming back for her, like he always used to do. She kept running from him, pushing him away, going to the man, no, the monster who hurt them both.

And Finn kept coming back, even with all odds against him, even when the Force chose her instead of him to end the war. To bring Balance.

Well, it does not matter. She didn't need Finn's hand because she was strong, and she wanted to prove it. An old man's voice did keep telling her running from help was a sign of strength.

Or so she thought. She knows, after this fight, that she will save Finn from Leah's brainwashing and make him see how much of a victim she was. She was manipulated, she knows it. And she needs friends, more than ever. She wants Finn back, to tell him the whole truth, to love him like she didn't during the rise and fall of the First Order.

Rey breaks of her meditation, and ignites her yellow lightsaber. She makes a triple backflip and throws it like a boomerang right after she lands, cleaving through a boulder with ease. Then she uses the Force and manages to uproot an even bigger boulder and then rip it in half.

She knows she will win, but she has to become stronger and stronger. Finn always admired her strength, and she will make sure to make him proud again. And after she gets him back... she is going to build the Jedi Order once more.

Meanwhile, Poe and his army, who have returned long ago, have done a few improvements.

Q has made two electric brass knuckles for Brass Bolt, because they fit a ruffian freedom fighter and both parts of his name. Virago is checking the Nutty Poet's health.

"We have a problem. Her condition got worse."

Finn, Poe and Kallie rush in.

"Worse?"

"Yes. I can feel her blood slowly freezing. We were keeping her in great conditions, how did Fang's magic..."

"Maybe because she hasn't been conscious for a long time." Finn feels awful about himself. He shouldn't have his stupid ego get in his way. He should have let Toni teach him Force Healing.

He tries to do so himself. However, being untrained for that, and because it reminds him of Rey, who makes him anxious, he fails.

"Damn it! I will learn how to heal, even if it means to be trained by Rey herself!"

"Finn, that is true. Just because Rey was a b..."

Virago glares at Poe.

"... bit rude to you, that doesn't mean you shouldn't use her techniques. Force Healing suits you so much, you should have learned it."

"I know, Poe. I know."

Q has also built a hidden turret because their headquarters had no defense at all. While it had the advantages of not sticking out like a sore thumb and not wasting the limited budget of Stormwolf, someone like Rey could just walk in if they figured out the location.

With one hidden turret, Q makes sure to fend off the attackers and surprise them, while it costs few materials and little to no cover.

Virago has made a cardbox to joke with Gray.

"I don't think anyone would be fooled by something that has this sentence on."

"I know, that's the funny part, Gray."

One hour later, Leah is sweating.

Embry, who has recovered from his injuries in the Boar News Tower, grabs her and throws her a few feet away. Leah barely manages to land on her feet.

"Leah, why are you doing this?"

"A foe with extreme telekinetic prowess will try to kill me in two days. She will try to throw me around and I want to land on my feet."

"Don't you think you train too much, Leah? You need food. You need a break!"

"Not until I make sure Finn and I are safe."

Finn senses her fatigue and rushes to see if she is fine.

Two minutes later, he finds her on the ground.

"Leah! LEAH! Answer me! Are you ok?"

"No, Finn. Rey is about to kill me so you can be hers to beat up and disrespect. I have two days to make sure both of us live. I can't stop training! I am the strongest member of Stormwolf. I understand you can't bring yourself to fight Rey. I have to defend you."

"Please, Leah, don't fight her! She is too dangerous, and I do not want her to die either. I just want her to realize she can't do everything wrong without consequences, not to suffer!"

"And yet you suffered because of her!"

Leah hugs Finn. "Finn... you deserve someone who truly loves you. I want to be that someone for you. You accepted me for what I was, for who I was. You loved me with my sterility, my temper, my bloodline of monsters. Please, don't leave me for someone who made you feel useless.

Just tell me... were you using me to get back at Rey?"

"No. I came to you because I knew you deserved to be happy. Because I knew you loved me. I am sorry for leaving you after the Siege of Rome, I just had to defend my own Galaxy. I did leave Rey because I was fed up with her nonsense, but I came to you because I love you the way you are and know you will not hurt me. Because you, too, deserve someone to appreciate you and I want to be that someone."

The two kiss. After they break, Finn speaks first.

"Just... do not get yourself hurt. Please."

"I will not, Finn."

"Good. Now get some food, you need it, dear."

As the two separate, Finn hears Rey's voice.

"Finn? It's me, Rey!"

"How are you talking to me? I know you can feel me, as I did when you died, but..."

"You might be a Jedi, but you still have a lot to learn about the Force. I heard you were genuinely heartbroken when I died."

"Yes. Yes I was. Because I loved you then.

And this is why I want you to stop what you are doing."

"What? Using one of your own as a mole? You know very well Virago offered her services willingly, all by herself, just to see us both happy. That's why you forgave her."

"No. Not that. I understand Virago is a good person and means well. And I don't mean what you did on Kef Bir either, I heard you improved since then.

Though I can't let you back without consequences.

I mean wanting Leah dead. Leave her alone! She doesn't need to be hurt! Come for me if you like, but do not kill her!"

"I have to. Leah must have told you so many lies to keep us two away. Maybe she manipulated you so she can have you for herself."

"No. It's because she loves me! She has been put through a lot due to some of her family having imprints, like you did, and doing terrible, terrible things. That's why she can't excuse you.

And I do not plan to just dump her like a hot potato for you, even though I do aknowledge the history between us two. Or maybe because I do so, because I prefer her for never treating me like shit.

And it's not just about her. I don't want you to get hurt either. As much as I got over you, I still don't want you to die."

"Yet you make a non-human pariah whom you ever met before once after an accident a priority over me!"

"At least she is not one of the worst people in the Galaxy who repeatedly abused us both."

"She is from a family of abusers!"

"Yet you are nothing like Palpatine. So why would she be like them?"

No response.

Finn is waiting for something, anything.

But Rey just cut the connection.

She turns to Little Finn.

"Looks like my love still prefers Leah over me..."

At the mention of Leah's name, the mouse jumps in happiness.

"... but what he said in the end... I can't explain how I feel about that."

An old man's voice is heard inside her head.

"It seems Finn became a true Jedi. He even lied to you, just like he lied about his past as one of my men."

"He was forced into it. His lie was more accurate at the moment and he made it true."

"But he is still weak, and so tries to keep you from your destiny. I would say he is a burden, but no, if you can take him with you... you will inspire all traitors to do the same. You will have people who adore you, and your man eating from the palm of your hand."

"But do I really want this?"

As Rey starts having second thoughts, in another Galaxy Lightning Dawn is training.

He throws punches faster than the human eye can see at a punching bag until it gets struck through. Then he runs ten circles around his large training room in a second.

A tiny yellow fairy watches him.

"Go, Lightning! You can do this!"

"I know, Krysta. I am the Sword of Grand Ruler, I can't fail!"

After Lightning tells Krysta to fire weak lightning bolts and she does, Lightning dodges all of them.

Then he goes to a portal.

"Grand Ruler told me escaped criminals have taken refuge on Earth. I have been there in the past. For secrecy, Grand Ruler told me to go alone. And I myself believe I have to go alone."

"No. We are doing this together."

"Krysta, you have to rule the fairies. Just make a portal for me. I have to go alone. I don't need friendship, I just need to believe in myself."

"But, Lightning, I want to help! My portals can turn the tides on a fight. If not me, how about your wife? She is a skilled archer, she can..."

"No. I have to protect her from fights. I insist, I have to go alone. That was an order. And it's also for my cover. Just open a portal for me."

Krysta does so and tries to enter.

Lightning throws her away.

"It's for your own good. I am your Admiral, Krysta, and I order you to stay behind and see if any threats come to our empire. Do not defy my orders. Now, prepare, criminals, to fall to the light of justice and belief!"

As he gets inside, Krysta prays for him.

"I just want to help him. I was by his side all of his life, and he sees me as useless.

Lightning... please be safe. I believe in you... but you can't keep pushing your friends away."

Lightning goes with a stride that befits a war hero towards the human world. The moment he does, he transforms into a human man.

In the Stormwolf headquarters, Poe and Finn have a discussion.

"Finn, I believe Virago spies for Rey."

"What makes you say that?"

"For starters, she supports her very openly. Also, someone let her enter our base. Virago was on guard. But I did not become sure until I saw her glaring at me for criticizing Rey."

Finn knows that Poe tells everyone such vital things, unlike Holdo.

But he is his best, most trusted friend.

If he tells Poe, Virago's life is in danger.

Finn also sends messages to Rey through Virago and knows she doesn't mean any harm.

However, Little Finn is still kidnapped due to Virago's spying, and Finn wants to save him. Finn will give a second chance to both Rey and Virago, since nobody died.

Rey is not like Kylo. She didn't murder Resistance members. She didn't kill people who loved her. But if Rey manages to kill Leah or Little Finn, everyone will know who Virago truly is.

For now, Finn lies.

"She is too obvious. It might be someone else. Or she might track us through me."

"I am not so sure, Finn."

"Poe, please let me investigate."

"I will."

Finn leaves.

**Poe's POV**

Finn is hiding something.

I know him better than everyone. Finn didn't seem like he was telling the truth. Finn is a good man, that pretty much is clear. However, he is not above lying when lives are at stake.

Virago is the spy, but I don't have enough proof.

But if Finn lies to save her, it means she means well and he wants to avoid further misunderstandings.

I want to learn why he lied to me.

Then again, Virago is such a sweet and kind woman. She always loved me and does her best to keep everyone happy.

I can't expose her and make her hated while I have just my guesses and she never did anything evil.

I will do my best to uncover the whole truth.

That way I can expose and justify Virago completely.

**Third Person POV**

A muscular blond white man with brown eyes watches a robbery taking place. He gets behind the robbers and realizes they are irredeemable. He snaps the neck of the first one, but another draws a gun to shoot him. The man grabs the robber's arm and twists it, and then he knees one of the thief's ribs, breaking it before also ripping the arm off. The third one pulls a knife, but the man dodges effortlessly and breaks his skull with an axe kick.

He turns to the criminal who survived.

"Tell me... do you know where I can find the Resistance?"

"I don't know where the Resistance is. The Minister of Truth used to inform everyone, but he had mysteriously disappeared a few weeks ago. Are you one of them?"

"They are terrorists. They hide dangerous outlaws."

"I have no idea."

"Then, I will allow the cops to deal with you."

Meanwhile, Finn goes for a patrol.

It has been a long time since he got to be in a battle. The closest was when he and Leah saved Alix, and they didn't encounter any dangerous opponents. With Rey, he would never try to land a hit.

As he walks, he sees a kitten trapped on a tree. He uses the Force and brings the feline safely down. Then he keeps walking, sees a puppy in the middle of the street and a drunk driver running at full speed without any care in the world.

The Jedi drags the puppy out of the way with the Force and reads the driver's mind. He sees the driver is just drunk, not malicious.

Then he keeps going. He spots a S.W.A.T. Thug savagely beating a black man with a nightstick.

Finn knows what he will do is not ok, but it's better than doing nothing.

His decision costs him two blaster bolts. For the cop it's more expensive, as it costs him an arm and a leg.

Then Finn approaches the victim.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes" the black man replies.

"No. You are not. Nothing was ok."

The thug tries to crawl away.

Finn turns to him.

"You were going to beat him to death, right?"

"He tried to pay with forged money."

"And you wanted to kill him, you slimeball? I will let you live with the knowledge you are not superior to anyone and that you can't beat anyone who fights back."

As the thug starts crying, the man he was bullying kicks him.

Finn then reads the man's mind.

"You indeed went to pay with fake money."

He takes the fake money and rips it apart, then he gives the man some real cash.

"Here. Take anything you need, without breaking the law."

The Jedi keeps patrolling.

And he sees a married couple holding hands. The woman is pregnant. Close to them, a muscular blond man. Finn senses a lot of power coming from the man, but it isn't the Force.

There is also a crook with a knife. He tries to mug the blond man. However, the man grabs the mugger and throws him at a column.

The criminal is instantly knocked out, and the column is about to fall at the pregnant woman, who can't move fast out of the way.

The blond stands there and seems powerless to stop this.

Finn can't stand and do nothing! He uses the Force and sends the column back to its place, saving the woman.

The muscular man frowns.

Finn tries to read his mind, but fails miserably.

The two powerful men stop opposite to each other.

Finn talks first.

"You seem to be pretty strong. Well done against the mugger."

"He had it coming."

"Why didn't you help the couple? This column would crush the poor woman."

"I am on a mission, dude. I can't lose time helping married couples. What if she did get hit and lost the child? I lost my entire family while I was young. They should deal a bit with the hardships of life."

"Just because you are miserable doesn't mean others shouldn't be happy."

"I am not... "

Finn Force Pushes the man backwards with no warning. "What mission? I want to know."

"I am looking for some terrorists who broke into a prison and released criminals. The Resistance."

"How do you know it was that organization?"

Finn tries to read the man's mind again, but fails once more.

"Don't try to read my mind. I have trained all my life to block all mental techniques.

Back to your question, I was informed by the guards there.

It's no need to hide anymore. You made me use my training and got too much information from me.

Do you know where I learned to block mind reading? In the best army of my Galaxy and any Galaxy.

Starfleet."

And he turns into a humanoid, white, winged unicorn with a number on his chest, brown eyes and a golden horn. His armor is pale yellow.

Finn draws his blue saber.

"So, this is the Starfleet General Poe and Vice General Jannah were talking about? I would say it's impressive, but I have eliminated worse."

Then they charge at each other.

The unicorn goes faster than the human eye can see. Finn senses him with the Force, but even with the foresight and the enhanced reflexes it gives him, he is too slow to avoid the first strike!

The warrior of Starfleet punches Finn's chest hard before landing two savage crosses and knocking the man down.

"Wimp. No ordinary human can beat the best force in the Universe. Now, Emerald Shaina told me there is a General Finn in the Resistance.

I am Admiral Lightning Dawn, leader of the best Starfleet force, Sword of Grand Ruler."

Finn says nothing, just gazing at the number on his adversary's chest. He remembers his past as FN-2187 and tries to hide his expression of disgust.

Despite the pain, he starts getting up.

Lightning keeps talking.

"I want you to lead me to General Finn, tell him to sign a treaty Jannah refused, and send back all criminals his allies freed."

"What treaty?"

"I will tell the General."

"You are in front of him."

"What?"

And Lightning gets lifted off the ground. He grins for a moment, as weak magic can't harm him, but then he gets slammed so hard he actually feels pain.

"I said, I am the General. Jannah actually told me about the treaty. It's for us to dismantle our perfectly effective army and accept the protection of some militaristic force who lost to us.

How about we keep our army and you are given the boot?"

"I thought the leader would be more wise than his subordinates."

"Poe would also refuse, and he is the one person I answer to."

"Hmmm... time to show you our values are superior. In the way Grand Ruler taught me!"

Both get in a fighting stance and charge again at each other.

Finn has calculated his enemy is even faster than the fearsome vampires. He uses the Force to sense a punch which he actually dodges, and then he retaliates with a flurry of saber slashes. Lightning jumps backwards to dodge all of them and performs a flying kick, which Finn avoids by jumping to the right.

Then he does a quick saber slash, which Lightning attempts to block with his left forearm. His arm isn't severed, but it does get a cut, which makes him flinch.

Finn seizes the opportunity to Force Push the admiral at a sign. The impact breaks the sign and Lightning keeps flying until his back hits the ground.

The Jedi uses the Force to lift the broken parts of the sign and parts of concrete and sends them all at once at Lightning, but the experienced Admiral blocks all of them effortlessly.

Finn draws his blaster and starts shooting rapidly, accurately. As he can't read his adversary's mind, he can't fully predict him.

However, Lightning is so fast he manages to avoid all the blaster bolts and reach Finn. He block a kick to the side and knees the man's gut, then he unleashes a flurry of rapid punches and ends with his hardest right hook, sending Finn flying at a store which sells cars. Finn is thrown through the glass and gets wounds in his right arm and left leg.

Lightning follows him, intending to kill him with a hard left jab, but the Jedi avoids it and it makes a hole in a car.

The seller is shocked. "This car could endure a rock thrown at it!"

Finn gets out of the store and waits for Lightning.

When Lightning does come out, he gets struck by glass shards from behind and then Finn throws him from the front.

The two keep fighting, Finn with the saber and Lightning with his fists. Lightning charges again, even faster than before, but Finn sees his enemy relies too much in charging head first.

And he responds with the Whirlwind of Destiny, which was so fast it could melt an armor that fully recovered in under a second. He is almost surprised the enemy admiral kept charging while Finn was spinning.

As a result, Lightning gets struck multiple times and gets knocked down. Then Finn slashes his golden horn, but the horn glows and blocks the attack.

"Not so fast! The horn is the strongest part of my body!"

Lightning barely avoids a jab at his shoulder, grabs Finn and throws him in an abandoned alley.

"Here we can fight without harming civilians."

Finn gets up.

"Good idea. Seems like you do have some heroism."

"I like your own determination and that you don't want to hurt civilians either, General. However, your determination can kill you, and I would advise against fightning stronger opponents."

"The strongest doesn't always have the best values. The strongest doesn't always win."

"The words of the Grand Ruler are wise. You should also follow them by heart."

"What else does he say?" 

"That we are the supreme species. And it's our duty to protect the other races."

"Lightning, I will tell you something. I don't believe in master races."

The two bow to each other for the second round and then Finn draws his blaster and starts shooting.

None of his shots manage to hit Lightning or the walls. The Starfleet Admiral keeps dashing in a straight line, not getting hit once, until Finn fires in front of him and down below, causing Lightning to use his wings to fly backwards.

Finn doesn't seem surprised.

"Next you will say: 'You are a terrible shot.' "

"You are a terrible shot."

Then he looks around and sees all of Finn's blaster bolts floating still in the air, all turning towards him from different angles.

"Sweet Grand Ruler."

And all the bolts strike him at once. He fails to block or dodge any of them and gets knocked down!

The Admiral does not get up after this attack.

Finn believes it worked, but can never be too sure.

He uses the Force to check if Lightning is alive.

Suddenly, Lightning gets up!

"Ha! I only pretended I got defeated by that pathetic attack, Finn! My training made my body too tough even for concentrated fire and weak magic. Sadly, I can't use magic like you, but I have ways to compensate for that!"

Lightning draws a wand with the colors of a rainbow.

"Rainbow Rod! TORNADO BEAM!"

Finn, prepared due to all that talk, blocks it with his lightsaber. He manages to stop the beam, but the impact still knocks him down on his back.

**Finn's POV**

Phew. He nearly outsmarted me. My attack has shredded vampires in the past. If he just shot me while I was checking him with a beam this powerful, it would blast through me!

I get up just in time to avoid a downward punch, which is so strong it creates a crater. However, he uses his wings to fly upwards and attacks me with a double dropkick.

My eyes can't see it, but the Force can sense it. I am still too slow to dodge the attack and get knocked down.

I try to find something, anything to fight back. I throw rubble at him, which does nothing but distract him for a second. But a second is enough for me to strike! I go for a quick jab, but he vanishes from my eyes.

He told me he can't do magic. I still can't read his mind, but I know he tells the truth. I sense something behind me, turn at full speed with my saber and manage to strike flesh. It's hard, but the saber still gets through!

Lightning Dawn winces in pain and draws his Rainbow Rod. It's extremely powerful, better avoid it.

Fortunately, the user is not very clever.

"Rainbow Rod! TORNADO BEAM!"

Thank the Force I am a Jedi, I would never have dodged that without my training. Though Lightning makes it much easier with his habit of announcing his attacks. He announces it again, charges it a little, and I manage to avoid it once more.

Each of his shots creates a small crater. But it seems he is more brawn than brains. He starts recharging his rod by shaking it up and down. Imagine him being homophobic while doing this.

But I will not stand there and watch this. I fire my blaster at Lightning's hand, knocking the Rainbow Rod off. Then I push him away with the Force, breaking the stone wall behind him.

I steal his Rainbow Rod by pulling it with the Force. I was always a crack shot, he is fucked.

But when I try to fire it, it fails.

Lightning gets up and folds his arms.

"The Rainbow Rod was made for me when I was ready for it. Grand Ruler made sure it obeys me and me alone. Especially my voice."

I throw a brick at him, but he smashes it with his golden horn and punches me in the gut. Then he kicks me in the face. I feel dizzy, my hands are forced open. Then I feel something cracking as another punch knocks me down.

Lightning retrieves the Rainbow Rod.

I try my best to get up. It hurts, and I can's see so well, but the Force can see for me. I close my eyes and endure. I never had the fame of not getting down. But keeping me down is the hard part.

I can feel Lightning charging at me for one more punch. Time to show him how true his superiority is.

I attack with my strongest push. No need to hold back.

Even though his speed mitigates my attack, he is still sent flying backwards. He flies and taunts me.

"You are strong for a human, but nobody is superior to the Unicornicopians!"

Then he charges the Rainbow Rod.

I still have my eyes closed, but I can hear him announcing his attack. And I send him crashing with the Force before he can finish.

Then I attack him with more rubble caused from our fight. Predictably, Lightning blocks all of it. But that was not my main attack. I throw a detonator and stick it to one of his wings, guiding it with the Force.

I feel better now. I shoot him once to distract him and then run, while the detonator explodes.

**Lightning's POV**

AAAAARGH!

I can't believe it! All my Starfleet training, and the human managed to find a way to hurt me. My left wing is messed up, and the explosion caused smoke.

But I can hear his footsteps, less and less loud.

Is the coward running away? I thought he was a hero, but I knew anyone who would condone freeing criminals and traitors would prove to be a coward.

He is not getting away that easily.

I try to fly so I can catch him more easily, but it hurts. The pain is unbearable, I can't do this even if I don't care about my cover.

I have to chase him on foot.

We are the same in one thing. Our power is not being unable to be knocked down. It's that we keep getting back up.

This is the true power of Starfleet. Belief in ourselves.

And I believe that, even though you are clever, you are still no match for my training!

I manage to get up, in spite of the pain.

I remember from the sound he went forward, then left, but sadly we are in a city. And Finn did not leave any footprints.

I can still use my smell. I rush at the direction I remember, but encounter another problem. People there sell fruit, which have their own odor.

However, some banana peels are thrown on the way, blocking it. No match for my intense training, as I effortlessly jump over them.

This can be a sign for Finn's direction.

I could hide, turn into my human form and then ask for the criminal's location. Or say I am a human in a superhero costume. The Grand Ruler knows a lot about humans and real life.

But I remember his teachings. I have to just believe in myself. I have learned not to rely on friendship to prevail. Asking any strangers goes against everything I stand for.

I can do this all by myself! Better keep civilians out of this!

Twenty minutes pass. I could easily catch up to him, but he managed to evade me through the streets and turns. My visor can't see in the past, but it's useful for seeing through walls. He is not here. Not here either.

I am starting to lose patience. I can't level the city, innocents will die and Starfleet will lose its good name. Finn? Where are you?

Finally, I see a crate made of paper in an empty garage. It has a text on it.

"Nobody is hiding behind this crate! Monster, look elsewhere!"

A monster here? No, no, I would have seen it.

Or Finn thinks I am a monster because I oppose him and am not human.

Which means Finn must be hiding. This is the oldest trick in the book, I am not that stupid.

Or, nobody is truly here, and Finn wants me to attack the crate as a distraction.

This could be two separate bluffs.

But whatever he is planning, my visor is too much for such weak old tricks.

I see through the box and finally find him.

He is hiding behind the crate. He thought I was that stupid. Such pathetic tricks can never defeat Lightning Dawn, hero of Starfleet.

"You are clever, human, but you are still weak! As long as I believe in myself, I can triumph over my foes!

I summon forth the mystic glow! UNIFORCE!"

He is standing there, expecting to tank the hit.

So many monsters have taken it in the past. Some fell, some stood. Some even gloated. This one is not different.

Plus, I saw no life signals on him now. Which means he is undead. Good, I will feel no guilt about this. Then again, the life detector is faulty, it didn't detect a flower monster...

**Third Person POV**

The beam of Uniforce tears through the air as it gets towards its target, a target that can't even move.

Finn's last words before the deadly ray hits are not gloating, not a plan.

It's a simple "I am sorry, Virago."

The Uniforce strikes through the box and its target, and Finn doesn't even manage to scream in pain and terror.

The impact immediately turns the Jedi to ash.

Lightning drops to his knees. He did it! He killed General Finn! Now he can round up the prisoners by himself and show the power of belief!

The beam he fired made him exhausted.

"I did it. Finn is dead. I won."

A voice is heard.

"Next you will say: 'Even with your courage, Finn, you still were no match for the Starfleet training and power. The power of belief is invincible'."

"Even with your courage, Finn, you still were no match for the Starfleet training and power. The power of belief is invincible."

The moment he says 'invincible', a thick hot blue beam strikes him and launches him through a wall.

And Finn emerges, the Microwave Beam in his hands.

"You rely too much on brute force and technology, Lightning. I was worried the cardboard one of my friends made for me would not fool you."

"How did you predict my lines? You weren't reading my mind!"

"I couldn't and still can't. But you were way too straightforward."

"Too... how do you know so much about me?"

Finn seathes his Microwave Beam and draws his lightsaber. He ignites it and points it at him, just as the unicorn tries to get up.

"Trust me, Lightning. I know a lot about the likes of you. Do you know why you are down, with me standing above you?

It's because you don't trust anyone else. This cardboard was a gift by one of my friends, Virago. I feel bad for using it as a decoy with the Force.

But at least it saved my life. Maybe if you had friends to trust, you could trick me too."

"I don't need friends! I just need to believe in myself."

"I suppose the Grand Ruler told you that."

"Uhm... yes."

"You aren't exactly hard to read. I know what you truly are. You are an arrogant asshole, who pushes away his own friends and believes he can do everything by himself. You also are very powerful, and that's why your tactics are limited and you prefer to overpower enemies. You also like to show off your strength and belittle allies for wanting to help you, or for believing in friendship."

"How..."

"However, I can also tell you are not evil. You care about not harming civilians, you stop criminals, you want to help others, and you get back up if knocked down, and hardly ever give up. Finally, I can't really blame you for your worst traits. You are very obviously manipulated by someone else."

Lightning is speechless. "No other hero saw any flaw in me!"

"Surprising. I, myself, have a few. Namely, that I am willing to lie and disobey and kill and betray if it means to help others. And my ego did impede me a few times. But do you know how I recognize all those traits? Because I once loved a woman who had these. Her name is Rey.

She has hurt me, but I can't bring myself to lay a hand on her like she did. Your hazel eyes remind me of hers. You remind me a lot of her. And that's why I will not kill you. Because I know the hearts of both of you are in the right place."

"You... are sparing me? Tell me more about Rey."

"Rey was a great Jedi. I found her in the desert, surrounded by thugs. I rushed to help, but she beat them and then hit me too. Then we had each other's backs for a lot of time. Or so I thought.

She started running off to see our archenemy. A man who ordered me to kill villagers and I refused."

"Orders are orders. They are for your own g..."

The saber pokes his throat.

"I did not finish. Due to some evil sorcery, Rey thought only he, who kept abusing her and calling her a nobody, knew her, while I didn't. But I did not care she basically rejected me for the worst person in the Galaxy... initially.

Then came a fight where she literally pushed me away so I will not help her. This led to her facing an enemy alone and our leader sacrificing herself to save her. Rey took advantage of this. And then she said she wanted to hold the hand of a potential good side of the man who tried to kill her. While she yelled if I gave her mine."

Lightning, the man who brought his own tragedy to be aparthetic to married couples suffering, feels sympathy because he was taught rejected men deserve it more than anyone else. "And what did you do then?"

"When that man died, she kissed him. I had enough. I simply left, Lightning. Wanted to make known who lost of the two. I still had my friends, who kept me happy, and found another girl who truly appreciated me for who I was. And I carved my own path, kept fighting crime and saving civilians."

"You just moved from her? You..."

"I want to forgive her, but only on my own terms."

"No, no, no. This goes against what Grand Ruler stands for! If you are rejected, since you were good to her, force her to be with you. Make her suffer for being happy with someone else."

"She was never happy with him, he was abusive. And again, he is a corpse. And I wanted to show her things change. I realized she was not good enough for me. Rey is not a trophy. And I did not want to suffer because of her.

I took back my life, became a Jedi in my own right. In the end, I always have a choice."

Lightning Dawn is speechless.

"No... no, you do this wrong! You failed to get her!"

"Again, she is not a trophy."

"Grand Ruler told me how it truly works. You didn't get the girl? Kill everyone in the way. Blow up planets if you have to. Spite your so-called friends who are happy while you are miserable! If it's final, commit suicide. How can you live without her?"

Finn's blood is boiling.

Doesn't this guy have his own voice? Finn couldn't hate him, as he reminded him of the Stormtroopers.

And to kill himself because of what Rey did? This is degrading to both of them! He is so much more than a tool to emotionally abuse Rey!

And he knows now that Rey was manipulated, just like this guy!

"Your Grand Ruler is an idiot!"

Lightning already got mad when someone disobeyed the orders of his wise mentor, but outright insulting him? That was enough!

Lightning believes he can still beat Finn. He can still do this. For the honor of his father! For the values of Starfleet. For the superiority of his species and belief!

"I do not care you are just a misguided fool. Nobody insults my mentor!"

His arms are glowing with a golden light. He managed to infuse them both with the Uniforce, and catch Finn's lightsaber with both hands.

Then he pushes him back, gets up and lands a hard right cross to Finn's face, before landing two left gut punches and a spin kick to the man's stomach.

Finn is sent flying, and he senses the enraged unicorn with the Force. Before he can do anything, Lightning is upon him and unleashes a flurry of rapid jabs.

Then he lands an uppercut to Finn's jaw. As all these attacks are infused with the Uniforce, they hurt Finn far more than before.

Instinctively, Finn throws a right hook, but Lightning easily ducks and lands a left hook, drawing blood. Then he lands a knee kick on Finn's torso, breaking a rib and making him scream in pain.

He proceeds to land rapid crosses in the dark-skinned Jedi's face. "You don't know what the Ruler gave me! This is a result of his training. I am the hero you see now because of him!"

Finn's light armor is broken, and blood comes from his nose and mouth. In the end, he is launched into a car, and his spine would crack if it wasn't metal.

The moment he recovers, Lightning lands a flying kick to his chest, making a bruise. Then he uses a sign to try to split the Jedi in two, but the sign is split in two by Finn parrying with his saber. The Jedi retaliates with a thrust, but the Admiral nimbly dodges and lands even more rapid left forward kicks to Finn's stomach, making him fall to his knees from the pain.

Finally, Finn is thrown out of the garage, in a street, and Lightning flies with his one good wing to catch up to him and unleash some more Uniforce-infused punches, managing to break a second rib and cause internal bleeding to the man's stomach.

The last kick draws a lot of blood and sends Finn through a wall. Finn struggles to get up, not surprising Lightning at all. After all, such determination is the reason he is in the offensive now.

"Foolish boy" the Admiral thinks "I like your determination, but you are just going to hurt yourself. You are a failure of a hero. You failed to get the girl, you failed to get revenge and you failed to defeat me."

Finn vomits more blood, and for a moment falls down. Then he desperately throws pebbles at the winged unicorn, who shrugs them off.

"What you are doing, Finn, is not bravery. Fighting enemies you can't defeat is foolishness."

Lightning dashes faster than the human eye can see somewhere, and Finn barely manages to recover.

He tries to sense the white unicorn with the golden horn, but he is nowhere for a moment.

Then he returns! And he is holding a hot coffee in his right hand. "I would respect you, but you mocked the man who acted as a father when I lost my family!

I am going to scald your face with this hot coffee!"

Finn manages to catch his arms at the last second and tries to push the coffee away from him.

Lightning, instead of using his golden horn for a headbutt, lands yet another kick to Finn's poor ribs. Finn is screaming in pain, but refuses to give in.

As Lightning starts slowly overpowering his foe, Finn thinks of his friends.

[Victory Theme](https://youtu.be/qrw3NYx2YQ0)

First, about Poe Dameron, the first man who treated him as a person. Then about Q, and Gray, and Kallie. His mind goes to Virago. She would be terrified if she learned he died here. And to Master Toni. If Finn dies now, Toni's legacy will be erased.

The coffee gets closer to his face. He thinks of the dying Nutty Poet, and does not want to let her pass away. Then he brings Jannah, his sister, in his mind. He should apologize for giving her his duties. But he still had to vanquish evil. Then his mind goes to Rey and Leah. The two women he ever loved.

They looked at him like nobody else had. In these desperate moments, Finn forgot everything bad Rey did to him. He has to live. He needs to live, to stop the women he loves to kill each other. He wants to find a way to save them both. There must be one.

A drop of coffee barely misses his face.

Suddenly, Finn looks Lightning straight into the eyes and starts pushing his hands back.

Lightning flinches.

With a newfound strength and resolve, Finn manages to make Lightning pour the coffee in his own face instead! Then he breaks the lock with a kick and draws his saber, slashing the Unicornicopian twice. Lightning barely dodges the third strike.

Then he throws another right hook, but Finn ducks and manages to land rapid saber jabs, finishing with a powerful Force Push.

Lightning lands on his feet and charges horn first, but Finn sidesteps and strikes him with his blue lightsaber.

Then he manages to stab him in the back and kick him to the ground. Lightning rolls and avoids a stomp, then he manages to tackle Finn.

The Jedi, not wanting to fail his friends, gets up.

Lightning's voice grows desperate. "Rainbow Rod! COLOR B..."

WHAM!

Finn lands his hardest cross to Lightning's face and manages to break a tooth and draw blood, knocking the Starfleet Admiral down instantly.

"How... how can he still fight? He is just like me, but..."

"I don't care if you are stronger than me! I will fight and defeat you if my friends are in danger. Belief in yourself is a great force. But friendship? It's even greater."

Lightning gets up and does an axe kick, but Finn dodges. Lightning's foot creates a crater, while Finn Force Pushes him backwards and uses his Microwave Beam to hit him square in the chest, knowing he would recover otherwise. Then he lifts him with the Force and slams him down several times.

Lightning's back hurts, but he gets up and uses his best strategy, charging head first once more. Finn dodges the next strike and kicks him in the ribs. Then he slashes at him several times, making three cuts.

Lightning makes a backflip and punches the ground, making a tremor and a crater. However, Finn knows that move from his beloved Leah, and has observed it and how it works. He jumps at the moment his adversary punches the ground and lands an aerial strike. Then he manages a fast jab at Lightning's right arm and an uppercut to his jaw.

The Force Resolve is what allows Finn's fists to do a little damage to Lightning, damage he could not do before. With a heavy saber slash, the black Jedi knocks down his foe again.

Lightning struggles to get up. He can't be defeated now! Someone who believes in weak values like friendship can't be able to beat him. He doesn't know how Finn keeps countering his special attacks, as he never told him.

He can't believe he has to do this. He can't believe he has to go all-out. His golden horn glows bright, he prepares his strongest beam of Uniforce in saber range. There is no way anyone can survive that, it can kill a Rancor in one hit.

"I summon fo..."

Finn's blue lightsaber emerges through his chest.

However, it misses his heart and lungs narrowly.

It still hurts enough to interrupt the Uniforce and force the Sword of Grand Ruler to his knees.

Finn stands before him.

"I know what you will say. How none of your special attacks can hit me."

"How none of my special attacks can hit you?"

"If I told you, you would beat me. You are more powerful than me and a lot of enemies I faced. Shame that strength alone does not make a hero."

"That's true. Heroes have also tragedies, and training to overcome the obstacles in their way."

"And empathy. Empathy above all else. If you can't defy orders so you can help innocent people, you aren't a hero. Rey, the Jedi I compared you to, knows this. Poe, my best friend, knows this even better. And I, myself, know this."

"True, but have you defeated anything that can blow up planets, like I did?"

"Yes. The first time I consciously used the Force. I was simply riding a horse and led an army of defected slaves, but still. It was a capital ship. I have also defeated big monsters and skilled warriors, like you probably did. Yet that wasn't the thing I am most proud of. It's that I got orders to kill civilians and refused to do so.

Do you know I missed your vital organs on purpose?

Lightning Dawn, there was a reason I insulted your mentor and not you. You genuinely believe you are doing the right thing. That you and your Starfleet are the only true heroes. Lightning... you need friends. Someone to love you as a person and not as a warrior.

Honestly? Pushing your friends away from you, acting like you are the greatest and that's why everyone else needs to be in the sidelines under your protection and doing exactly what you are told? Please, as a fellow follower of the Light... stop that. Please."

Then Finn points at the codename of Lightning.

"So... this is how you stand out? As AO03?"

Lightning, for the first time, sees a different expression in Finn's eyes. Pure anger, even _hate._

Finn, however, still doesn't kill him, in spite of the damage he got.

"This is how Grand Ruler views you? As a number?"

"Wait... you are not angry at me?"

"I am angry for what you are being through. If your Ruler views you as a number, he doesn't give a shit about you, fellow hero."

"No. He said this shows superiority compared to some marks other races have. Marks that show personality traits and talents. Our numbers are much better and show we are warriors."

"Let me tell you a story, since you use your tragedy to be apathetic to others. Once upon a time, I was a little child. A child who was taken away from his family at an age he can't even remember.

The name they gave me was FN-2187. I was just another soldier for them. Made to murder civilians, and die as a meat shield for the selfish ambitions of some officers. They expected me to do what I was told, they told me they are always right, that they are simply making the Galaxy better with their actions."

"No, no, don't do what I think you will do!"

"What? To compare you to past me?"

"Yes, that..."

"I am sorry, AO03. Doesn't it sound degrading? Like I am not treating you as a person? Do you know what's our difference? I stopped following orders because they were actively harmful to innocents. You, you are simply doing what you are told.

I can't hate you, Lightning Dawn. In spite of how you hurt me. I don't want to kill you. I want you to carve your own path and take back your life. I do not agree with your ways, as I disagreed with Rey's. But I believe both of you still have the spirit of a hero."

"Don't compare me to the woman who thought a bully and criminal had more value than you!"

"Why should I stop? Both of you are victims, I can't blame either for your attitudes! However, I also can't deny your mentality is harmful to yourself. No, I don't think you are right, Lightning. But I will forgive you if you stand up to the man who turned you into this."

Lightning suffers from his wounds. He needs to believe more. Harder. Pain nearly overwhelms him, but he uses it to feed his anger. He needs more power. Finn is nearly beaten.

However, he can't bring himself to fight anymore. Not against the man who spared him twice, even though he knew he could be beaten for that, who showed him sympathy instead of hate, who admitted he was weaker and still bested him with his wits. At least it wasn't a pony, or a woman, or even truly evil.

Finn pulls the saber back and offers his hand to the stallion. Then he helps him get up. The Jedi thought of saving him. He did technically save Nines, but it was debatable since he had to kill him. At least he made that poor soul rest.

"Lightning, if you apologize... I will forgive you."

"I... I don't know... I am still in the right... maybe...

Finn, I will not change for you. We have only met in a duel. But I can't help but respect you."

He falls to his knees again. He is about to cry.

He starts crawling away, scared. Finn turns back, but sees no new enemy. He doesn't sense one with the Force either.

Lightning keeps crawling. "No, friendship... it's... it's..."

Then a portal emerges behind him.

And a small fairy appears.

"K... Krysta?"

Krysta flies in front of Finn.

"You... don't you dare hurt him any longer!"

Lightning turns at her.

"You came... "

Finn raises his hands.

"I wasn't planning to kill him anyway. He does not deserve it. Are you his friend?"

"Yes, I am. And I don't care if you can beat him and I am weaker. I will defend him with my life."

"Do you know the main reason I spared him, twice in fact? Because he reminded me of a woman I loved."

Lightning turns to Krysta. "I told you... to keep yourself safe. That you should have stayed back..."

Finn crosses his arms. "...even when she was acting like this. You must be that best friend he pushes away for not being as powerful. Krysta... he reminds me of what I once was, what my old crush was. You remind me of myself.

He wasn't going to die even if you didn't come. But standing up to me like that was brave, even though it would be dangerous if I was a villain.

Lightning, do not mistreat her. Trust her. You would live, but I could not send you back. Thanks to Krysta, you can go back home. Just remember to hug and trust each other.

One last thing... I want the truth to be kept between us three. Lightning has been corrupted by a tyrant, and I don't want him to learn I might have planted any seed of doubt. I also believe you, Krysta, deserve some appreciation.

If the Ruler and his loyalists ask, I was about to cut Lightning in half when you showed up."

Lightning weakly turns to Krysta.

"Thank you, Krysta... for coming... for helping... for caring about me!"

The small yellow fairy blushes as she drags her friend through the portal. The portal closes, leaving a victorious but heavily injured Finn behind.

Finn, with all the strength he has left, limps his way towards the Resistance base.

Poe Dameron himself comes to get him.

He had been distracted before when he spotted a man sexually assaulting a woman. Now Poe's boots are red. Seeing Finn in this condition, Dameron puts an arm behind his back and carries him.

"What happened?"

"I fought the best fighter of Starfleet. And won."

"Did you kill him?"

"No. He was not worth it."

"You had come earlier in the base to get some stuff."

"Yeah. They saved my life."

Once they reach the door, Finn kneels before Virago. A tear flows across his cheek.

"I am sorry, Virago. I broke your beautiful cardboard."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you like or dislike Lightning? 
> 
> Would you want Finn to kill him, join him or lose to him? 
> 
> Opinions about Krysta the tiny fairy?
> 
> Best Finn moment before the duel? 
> 
> Best Poe moment?
> 
> Best moment of Finn and Lightning during their battle?


	9. Vanilla against Strawberry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starfleet might be no longer a threat for now, but the troubles are far from over.
> 
> Finn is now too weakened to stop what he dreads the most.
> 
> Leah and Rey are going to do the hardest fight of their lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the moment you were all waiting for
> 
> The "bitch fight", aka Rey vs Leah! 
> 
> Also features Finn and Poe.

"It's ok, Finn. I can... I can build another cardboard."

Finn breathes a sigh of relief and keeps walking in the base. However, he struggles to walk.

Brass Bolt approaches him.

"What happened?"

"The Starfleet leader, some Lightning Dawn, came to Earth to reclaim the prisoners. It was a tough fight. He broke a few ribs of mine. But I beat him. I taught him humility."

"I knew he wasn't invincible! Did you kill the fucker?"

"No. He didn't deserve it."

"He didn't? He is a meat puppet of a tyrant who hates happiness for no reason at all! He thinks he is superior to everyone else!"

"I don't think he believes that anymore. And, honestly, I just want him to stop being an abuser's dog, trust people who can be his friends and take back his life."

"Are you sure he will learn humility?"

"No. But it's worth a try."

"If it fails? Would you try that to the Grand Ruler who taught him these ideals?"

"No. He turned an innocent creature into a slave. He had people arrested for mockery. Above all else, he treats his subjects like numbers. And I don't like anyone who does that."

"So... we are safe for now?"

"Relatively. We still didn't manage to free Ace Ray from his mind control."

"We will find a way."

"General, are you sure you want to keep helping us? You are in a bad condition!"

"I am. But, while you can bring me down, I will just stand back up, Brass. Also, please call me just "Finn"."

Finn offers his hand to Brass Bolt. The pegasus takes his hand and they shake them.

Later, Poe wraps Finn's injured torso with bandages.

"Shame we have no healer. Virago would like to sense your injuries. I am afraid of something awful."

Virago comes to the room and senses the internal bleeding Lightning caused.

"Darn it! This is not good! Not good at all. Rey is not in our team to heal you, and I don't think you will be able to fight at your fullest for now."

"Virago, it could be worse. You and your cardboard saved my life.

Thank you."

"How?"

"I used it as a decoy. Lightning used his most powerful spell. If it had hit me instead, I would have been dead on the spot."

"At least, from what I heard, you beat him. I hope you aren't lying."

"I am not in a condition to lie, Virago. I only lie when the truth will lead to a worse misunderstanding."

Both Poe and Virago herself know that's true.

Poe tells everyone to leave so only the three can stay.

Then the ace pilot looks both Virago and Finn directly in the eyes.

"Finn... I do know you. And Virago, but mostly you. Virago, I know you spy for Rey. But... I also know you mean well, that you just want Rey, Finn, me, Leah, everyone to be happy."

"How do you know?"

"You just told me. I did not have any concrete evidence. However, even though I can't read minds, I asked Finn. He also knows everything. And I know when he lies. And why he lies.

If Rey murders one of our troops, even a cadet, you will be kicked out of Stormwolf. But if she redeems herself, something that you want and is the reason you spy in the first place, and I think it's more likely, you will be forgiven for your actions.

Tell me, did you make sure Rey keeps herself out of the Darkness?"

"I am trying, Poe, I am trying."

Hours pass, Finn slightly recovers.

Leah comes to his bed.

"Finn? Darling? I heard what happened to you. I am glad you got to kick that stupid Admiral's ass!"

"Thank you, Leah."

"However, your condition is horrible. Finn, you know we always have your back. Next time you fight someone as powerful, let us help you."

"You did. Virago saved my life with the cardboard of me. You yourself saved me too. Due to all the adventures we had together, I recognized one of your moves the enemy used and avoided it!"

"Really?"

"Yes. I know all your moves by heart. You move with such grace, you show such strength... but that's not why I love you, Leah. The point is, you will always find a way to be with me, to be for me.

And I appreciate that. I love you."

Leah kisses her lover in the forehead. "I love you too."

The two embrace, until Finn's eyes start getting filled with tears.

"Finn? Baby, what's wrong?"

"Leah... save our pet mouse, but please, please don't kill Rey."

"And if I have to?"

"You don't have to. Some people need to be redeemed, not killed. That's why I spared Nessie, and even Lightning who was an actual threat to me."

"But you killed Al..."

"I said some people, Leah. That creature beat you up and sent you to a vile prison, plus he ordered me to be raped by one of his minions. He needed to die. But Rey, in spite of being big-headed and making wrong choice after wrong choice...

She is not like that monster."

"Yes, but what she had done to you..."

"Was unacceptable. And I still will not accept her unless she comes here and says, _means_ , she is wrong, was foolish and tricked by the Dark Side.

Do teach her humility, call her out all you like, but do not kill her. She needs to be saved."

"Understood, dear."

The two kiss in the lips, and both feel the warmth of each other.

"I love you, Finn. I am afraid I must go."

"Just... remember my words, Leah. May the Force be with you."

Leah knows she has to travel to New York City. She doesn't need to take Q's car or an X-Wing, not that she could drive or pilot.

Instead, she turns into her wolf form and travels notheast at full speed. Since she is not carrying anyone this time, there is no extra weight, nor any fear she can throw the rider to the ground.

Due to her training, she manages to go at speeds no werewolf has gone before, reaching her destination in only two hours.

She pauses in Blue Forest, seeing a couple with their preteen son sightseeing. She hides from them and sees a red-eyed vampire doing the same, licking his lips.

The family hears a howl and a sound of bite, unaware a wolf just saved their lives.

It was over in two seconds. Leah is surprised at how easy it was. Maybe she was used to the strong enemies of the Boar News Tower.

She catches her breath and goes to the Central Park.

In the Central Park, Rey is waiting, her arms crossed. She had arrived first through the Millenium Falcon, and had murdered a pimp in cold blood, making it look like an unfortunate accident with the Force Choke.

Then she Mind Tricked all the victims of the man she killed and told them to look for better lives.

Killing those pieces of filth, those who ruined so many lives, felt so good to her. Rey the abuse apologist was dead long ago. Long live Rey, the bane of every abuser in existence.

When Leah comes, Rey smirks at her opponent.

"Well, well, well. Are you here to give me Finn?"

"I am here to give you a beating and take Little Finn back, you big-headed bitch."

"You? You are just a pariah, Leah Clearwater. Once the Omega of your pack."

"And you were once a scaveger, looking for anyone to get you back. Back when your loneliness was not your fault. Your argument is invalid."

"Still, I became the Chosen One, alone, by believing in myself. While you? You relied on friendship to get where you did."

"Alone, someone can be powerful. But with friends, they can be even better. We both started badly. However, I worked hard, tried to find others who truly love me and am now happy. You? You ran for anyone who cared, towards a person you knew was awful and put himself before you, for some imaginary good side, while treating actually good people like trash, and wonder what went wrong!

Even if you kill me, don't think Finn will love you as he once did. You lost him, and it's all your fault!"

Rey doesn't respond, she just roars in fury, while Palpatine's voice tells her to kill Leah. Rey obeys and Force Pushes the she-wolf backwards. Then she charges with her lightsaber held in both hands, screaming bloody murder.

[A Stranger I remain](https://youtu.be/h-rj8HVW3PQ)

Leah moves out of the way faster than the human eye can see and kicks Rey in the ribs before punching her three times in the face, drawing blood. Rey performs a flurry of rapid jabs, but Leah nimbly avoids all of them and manages to uppercut the Jedi.

Rey extends a hand.

"You will stand still and let me kill you."

"I will stand still and let you kill me."

Rey reads Leah's mind. She sees that Leah indeed will do so and charges, her guard down, to chop off Leah's neck. Leah ducks and manages to punch the Chosen One _hard_ in the stomach, stunning her for a second and jumping to land a double kick in her chest.

"What's wrong, Rey? Things aren't going the way you want?"

"I am the Chosen One, Leah... the Force favors me. The Force will always give me power in my time of need!"

Leah dashes once more, but Rey can sense her and manages to slash her across the chest. Then she unleashes another barrage of saber jabs and they all strike home. Against a human that isn't a Sith, this would be lethal. Against Leah, it merely damages her moderately. She growls in pain, but recovers to dodge a tree coming at her.

Then Rey hurls a boulder twice her size and sends it straight at Leah. Leah starts punching the boulder.

"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!"

The boulder is smashed to pieces, but Rey pulls Leah closer and slashes her with her saber, then she starts slamming the woman face first on the ground with the Force.

"You are right, Leah. I have a big ego. But you know why? Because I indeed managed to win battles, more than my friends. Because that big ego, I CAN! BACK! IT! UP!" With each punctuation she slams Leah harder and harder. Then she lifts a tree and drops it on Leah.

However, to her surprise, Leah lifts the tree and swings it at her. Rey cuts the tree in half with her saber, but Leah throws its remains at the Jedi. Rey cuts these too, but the she-wolf lands a flying kick at her and sends her on another tree.

Then she attacks with a Sonic Overdrive. Rey stays far enough from the punch, believing she is safe, but the sonic wave strikes and stuns her. Then Leah grabs her titanium crowbar and smacks Rey in the face, drawing blood. However, Rey draws her blaster and shoots Leah in the arm.

As Leah shouts in pain, Rey Force Pushes to a tree the same way Kylo did to her in Starkiller.

Leah gets up.

"If you think I will turn my back to my friends after that for you, you are wrong. Even these trees are smart enough not to do that."

"How dare you!" Rey charges head first with her saber. Seeing Leah preparing a powerful punch, she raises her saber to block it, knowing the impact would cut off Leah's arm.

However, Leah punches the ground instead and creates a tremor, breaking the Chosen One's guard. Then, before Rey can regain balance, the vampire huntress charges faster than the human eye can see and lands five fast front kicks, ending with a roundhouse Rey barely ducks under.

Rey slashes at her thrice with her saber, but the she-wolf dodges all attacks and performs a backflip, dodging a blaster bolt and landing on her feet.

"You know, Rey, I always thought it was strange. How you could speak and understand so many languages so fluently. Even Wookie. While you were just a scavenger.

I know you are reading my mind, Rey. This is the answer. You knew their thoughts so well, and then you replicated them if you had to. Like with Chewbacca. I don't read minds, but know you will say 'How do you know that?'."

"How do you know that?"

"Mind reading is a skill a notorious vampire in Forks used to have. But no, that's not half of it. It's that I am simply spending a lot of time with Finn. He also managed to understand languages by reading minds through the Force.

I don't know you a lot, only what I saw in history, what I saw in the Siege of Rome, when we still were friends, and what I see now. But Finn? Oh, _he_ knows a _lot_ about you, Rey Skywalker.

And being my lover, he shares everything with me."

Rey for a moment is worried about Virago.

But she can feel other Force users in this country by simply focusing.

Good. Finn hides _some_ things.

Rey replies to her adversary.

"I believe Finn is also your best experience with Force users. I always saw potential in him, but never had time to train him. And I was still a Padawan, so I could not train anyone. Plus, a voice in my head, like a guardian angel, told me not to train him because he might disturb the will of the Force and the Dyad and outshind me. Blame the imprint for the last one, but I really had legitimate reasons too."

"Well, Finn grew a lot since he left you. Though his master, Toni, was also a very powerful warrior. I wish he was still alive."

"I can still read your mind, Leah. Apparently, you and Finn are equals in battle prowess, in spite of the very different fighting styles. That's good... because I am ten times the Jedi he is."

Rey strikes Leah with her most powerful Force Push and sends her flying through multiple trees and out of the Central Park itself.

The she-wolf feels pain, but knows she will heal before Rey can catch up to her. So, she waits and uses her werewolf senses to check for Rey's distance from her. She knows Rey will not get lost due to the Force being able to track her down.

But still, Leah knows she is not dealing with Finn.

**Leah's POV**

Finn doesn't have my strength, but would use tactic after tactic to defeat me. If we ever fought. Rey is far stronger than me, but relies too much in brute strength and her, admittedly powerful abilities. She also prefers close ranges, so I don't have to worry about guided blaster bolts and can get in striking range. But this also means she can hit me if I can hit her.

I could climb a tree. No, will not work. She will spot me with the Force, and then use either her telekinesis or her lightsaber to bring me down with the tree. Better stay on the ground.

No, I have another idea.

I punch a hole in the ground. She will probably try to jump over, and then she is open.

Wait... is this a flying tree, coming at me?

Shit!

I barely dodge the big projectile, but fortunately no second one is coming.

**Third Person POV**

Rey is about to uproot another tree to crush Leah.

However, she is stopped by three rangers.

"Stop right here, vandal. You are going to be fined for destroying these beautiful plants."

"It's not my fault, I am in a fight..."

"We don't care! These trees are rare, and we do everything to protect them from people who illegally kill them. Now hold still and pay three thousand dollars for your cruelty to the trees."

Rey extends a free hand.

"You will all leave me alone and stay out of this."

"We will all leave you alone and stay out of this."

**Rey's POV**

Good thing I didn't have to murder them. They were annoying me.

I am the Chosen One, I can't be bothered by the laws of other planets. Not while facing a foe as serious as Leah. But I will only bring more attention if I keep throwing trees.

I can sense Leah is still alive and healing. I will get to her fast. I don't care what she is planning, I always have the power to counter it.

I can also hear Palpatine, telling me I should have killed the rangers and they will bother me again.

I ignore him and go straight to Leah.

Whom I find fully healed, having her arms crossed, waiting for something.

There is a hole on the ground. I can read Leah's mind, she hopes this hole is enough to stop me. She probably forgot I can simply attack from a distance.

I welcome the power of the Force like an old friend. I feel it course through my veins. My left hand gets charged with energy. Leah Clearwater, you have made me have trouble with civilians.

"DIE!"

And I fire a bolt of Force Lightning, powerful enough to blow up a TIE Fighter. However, Leah is apparently faster than even my bolt, as she dodges it and falls down. Then I hurl another one from my right hand.

Damn it! Hold still, bitch! I want to turn you into ash!

She sends me a piece of concrete. Pathetic. I simply send it back to her, but she dodges again. How... how is she so fast?

I have only one choice. To pick her up with the Force and put her inside the hole she made.

However, she seems to be resisting. I do manage to drag her slowly, but... what is happening? Now she is pulled very fast and... uh oh.

WHAM!

Ouch. She used my pull to strike me. Damn it. It hurts. It hurts a lot. I draw my saber and start slashing at her, just fast enough for the human eye to see. I even manage to land a jab at her right shoulder.

**Third Person POV**

Leah winces in pain and barely dodges the next, heavier strike. Then she backflips and lands on her feet before drawing her wooden stake and lunging, performing multiple fast jabs.

Rey dodges them with ease by sensing them with the Force, jumps above her and uses the Force to slam her into another tree.

Leah spits some blood.

"You know, indeed you and Finn are not in the same level."

"Glad you noticed."

Rey's smile becomes an expression of fear and surprise as Leah backhands her and then lands a hard left cross in the face.

"Because YOU are not half the Jedi he is!"

Rey growls in anger. "I am the Chosen One! I killed Palpatine! I saved Ben! I am the only true Jedi after Leia fell!"

Her eyes turn more yellow from the pure hate she feels right now. She starts Force Choking Leah, attempting to crush her windpipe.

Then she unleashes a bolt of Force Lightning, striking Leah in the chest and knocking her down.

"And you? You are a pariah dog! You kept complaining because your ex dumped you and went to abuse your cousin. You were bitching about how evil the imprints are, well, have you experienced them yourself? You are pathetic! I am going to be to Finn everything you are not!"

Leah struggles to get up, her wounds slowly healing.

"Don't... you dare... to touch him... after how you treated him."

"What did you say? I didn't hear that very well."

"I said... you are not half the Jedi my lover is."

Rey goes for a thrust, but Leah dodges it and kicks her in the ribs. Then she keeps attacking.

"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!"

Rey is thrown into a tree.

Leah approaches cautiously.

"On Starkiller, you must be proud of the scar you left on Kylo. I wonder how well would you do if Finn didn't bring Chewbacca and then fight Kylo. But yeah, use the Force to make sure Finn doesn't interfere in "your" fights." She dodges a shot and kicks Rey in the chest.

"When you were ignoring Luke and the Resistance to go whitewash the man who killed his own father, do you know what Finn did? He was going in Ahch-To to warn you. I saw history, I know part of the truth. He was only stopped because Rose, the dimwit, had the duty to treat him like grabage in your absence." Leah ducks a saber slash and punches Rey in the gut, then she slaps her hard in the face.

"While you were fighting alongside your abuser to make sure he escapes consequences and gets to power, Finn stood nearly alone against his own abuser, and exposed her for what she was while kicking her ass. He told the truth to those slaves, the Stormtroopers, while you were busy speculating that the man who forced them to destroy might have a good side." The she-wolf grabs Rey's arms and gives her a strong headbutt. Then she keeps talking.

"While you insisted to do everything by yourself, Finn, in spite of not having your power, offered to risk life and limb to defend your skin. But what value does your life and friendship have compared to your pride, Rey? To your need to see yourself as the only true Jedi, the only true hero?"

"Shut up!" Rey spins her double saber in front of her the moment Leah goes for another punch, wounding her right arm severely.

Then she shoots her in the back.

"This is not my fault! Again, I was bound by that horrid Dyad!"

"Which you slowly but surely accepted."

Palpatine's voice is heard in her ears.

"KILL HER!"

Rey leaves a fierce battlecry and goes to stab Leah in the forehead, but Leah narrowly dodges and tackles the Jedi to the ground.

Then she gets up. "Do you know how much hate I got from my own family? Because I didn't like bonds like yours? You have no idea! Rey, stop shifting the blame on others for what you did. And that goes tenfold for Kylo Ren. While he whined nothing was his fault while he did everything, everything wrong, you defended him."

"And I hate myself for it! Don't remind me of that bullshit! I am no longer this! I changed!"

"Probably because Finn realized he shouldn't let you get away with all of this while I, who never hit him, was rotting in prison."

Rey goes for another strike, but Leah grabs her arm, twists it and lands hard karate chops to it.

"Where was I? Oh yeah. In Kef Bir. You know what you did wrong there. Finn was willing to defy orders, to get through his fear as he had lost to Kylo in the past. Only for you to strike him with your magic. You didn't give a shit about him being ok! You only cared about Force Healing your precious Kylo Ren, who had killed his entire family! Apparently, skin color and power are what matter to you! Not personality! Not how they treat you!"

Rey's right arm is hurting, having made a severe bruise, but she uses her left one to viciously electrocute Leah and break free.

"You are blinded by the Dark Side, Leah, as I once was. I don't care about skin color. But power is everything in a fight. And I am the most powerful Jedi of all! All the Jedi are by my side! And, under the imprint, I thought that just because someone treats me well doesn't mean I should do the same!"

"And you did not realize you saw basic decency as something that can't even be earned by kindness? Honestly, I am not surprised. Imprints always will make you evil. But, Rey, I wouldn't rant if you didn't pretend you are the only great Jedi now.

I admit it. You changed. You weren't completely yourself. But you did so many wrong things and Finn didn't call you out, nobody called you out, until the end of the war. Except Poe, behind your back.

However, Finn and I? We got a lot of hate for doing nothing wrong except opposing abusive relationships, which isn't wrong, and not being white, which isn't wrong either. But I also hold a grudge because you kidnapped Little Finn to stop feeling lonely. How about not treating your friends like burdens, like utter dirt?

I want my pet back, Rey, and I want it n... AAAAAARGH!"

Rey electrocutes Leah with both hands.

"Both the Dark One and Palpatine are right in one thing. Might makes right. While you struggled to kill a vampire and Jacob got injured to save you, I killed Emperor Palpatine and plenty of Praetorian Guards."

She pauses for a moment.

"I would win against that vampire. Jacob only risked his life to take credit and because he saw me as useless! I would say that was repulsive, but I insulted you enough, ReAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Another bolt of Force Lightning makes Leah stop talking and causes severe burns.

"I didn't ask for a rebuttal, Leah! You talk too much! After I kill you, and Finn becomes mine, do you know who dies next? The one you probably know as "Dark One". The one who made me do some of these things!"

Rey grabs Leah by the black hair and knees her hard in the nose, drawing blood. Then she does so again, and again, and again. Her grandfather is in her head, egging her on, screaming for her to keep hitting. Rey doesn't get the hint and keeps kicking Leah.

"This is for blaming me for what I did under the imprint! And this is for all the hits you gave me! Why are you risking your life against people stronger than you? You are no Chosen One! It's not your destiny!"

Leah manages to catch Rey's leg and spin her around and out of the park. Then she dashes fast and lands a barrage of fast punches.

"Because it's not about destiny. It's not about doing what you are told! I know neither Finn nor I are special. However, we chose to do what's right. Nothing is more powerful..."

Leah suplexes Rey into the ground.

"...than free will, Rey!"

As Rey struggles to get up, Leah grabs her hair and smashes her jaw to her knee. Then she sends her to a parking lot. Rey uses the Force and lifts two empty cars, sending them to the Native American from both directions. Leah backflips at the last second, avoiding getting crushed, and then dashes at Rey, but gets Force Pushed back. Then pieces of concrete wound her.

Then a third car comes at her, but the she-wolf dodges and dashes faster than the human eye can see at Rey's right side. However, Rey senses the attack with the Force and dodges with ease. Then she dodges the next strikes and spins the double saber at full speed, wounding Leah's left hand. Then she kicks her in the stomach and with a spin she makes a scar in her torso.

Then she uses the Force to pick Leah up and repeatedly slam her face in a blue car, which becomes progressively more red.

"Leah, I might need friends in my life, friends I will no longer run from, but in a battle? I can still stand alone, powerful. I should give you credit, you fought well, you are pretty good. But I am a Skywalker. You, an ordinary werewolf, shouldn't have messed with me."

Leah gets up, parts of her clothes torn off, full of cuts and bruises that are slowly healing.

"Rey... I also should give you credit. Even though I can bring you down, you keep getting back up. This is the spirit of a true Jedi indeed. Fortunately, I am just like you in that one."

The two bow down to each other. Then, without warning, Rey charges head first at Leah, knowing too much dialogue would result in her getting healed.

With a wide slash she cuts the front part of the car in two, as Leah barely dodges. The slash is followed by a Force Push that flips the car upside down. Leah leaves a sigh of relief before dodging a bolt of Force Lightning and large chunks of concrete. She turns into her wolf form and jumps from chunk to chunk before biting the granddaughter of the Emperor in the arm, making her yelp in pain. Then she turns into her human form again and punches the ground, causing another tremor, but Rey is no longer under the imprint to make the same mistake twice.

At the moment the punch is about to connect to the ground, the Dark Jedi senses it and uses the Force to jump as high as she can, successfully avoiding it. Then she throws Leah from car to car before slamming her on the street.

Leah lunges at her and manages to grab her. The two get out of the parking lot and trade blows faster than the civilians can see, Rey using the Force to sense the moves of her opponent and improve her reflexes.

At one point, the yellow lightsaber grazes Leah's arm, but she strikes Rey in the cheek. Then she sees an opening.

And people hear "Ora" seemingly out of nowhere.

Leah lands rapid kicks. "ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!"

However, Rey, in spite of getting her spine cracked, retaliates by punching Leah in the face and slashing at her four times, faster and faster. The fourth one strikes home and Rey manages to slam the Native American to the ground next. Then she starts stomping on her.

"YOU TOOK FINN FROM ME! YOU TRIED TO RUIN MY GOOD NAME! YOU BRAINWASHED HIM INTO NOT LOVING ME ANYMORE! YOU MONSTER!"

Some civilians try to stop Rey, but she uses the Force and sends them all flying at once.

"Leah, as you might know, I am all the Jedi. In this story, I am the protagonist, while you? You are an adversary for me to defeat. This is the destiny of a Chosen One, Leah. To bring Balance. You will not rob me of my destiny. You will not rob me of the man I love."

She raises her saber for a finishing blow, but Leah manages to grab her arm.

Then she throws her hardest right hook in her life.

And manages to punch through the side of her head, cracking her skull and making her bleed without stopping.

"Do you know what you are, Rey? You are someone who insults and attacks her friends to feel strong. You are a bully. And I _hate_ bullies."

Rey can't respond. She can't even fight back.

This makes Leah pause.

**Rey's POV**

Ugh... My head hurts... I can't get up! I can't fight!

What is happening? I have been cornered in the past, but the Jedi aren't coming to help me! Leia! Luke! Ben! Finn! Somebody!

I can't get a clear view. Leah seems like she is shaking, I can see three blurry ones, but feel only one with the Force.

Is this blood coming from the side of my head? How is this happening? I am more powerful than her! I want to puke. This is awful! This is awful!

I puke on the floor, my head still hurts. The world is spinning around me.

What's this feeling? I feel blood and cold sweat all over me, my stomach hurts. I will not die again! I refuse to die! If only I can get up...

**Third Person POV**

Leah's expression changes.

Suddenly, she feels horrible about what she did.

She remembers Finn's words.

"Don't kill her"

She also remembers the Siege of Rome.

She no longer sees Rey Palpatine or Imprinted Rey. She sees a girl, just like her, who used to be alone.

"No, no, no..."

She offers her hand to Rey.

"Here. Please take it."

Rey takes her hand and gets up.

Then the two hug...

But suddenly, Leah sees the hole she left on Rey closing. And she herself feels weaker.

As if something is draining her.

Then Rey draws her yellow saber and stabs Leah on her side, piercing her ribs rapidly.

Her expression shows her usual fury, but also some pleasure. Pleasure she never hand before.

Leah's expression changes. "Asshole! ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!"

And she launches Rey all the way to Central Park.

In the Stormwolf headquarters, Finn feels a headache himself.

"I can sense both Leah and Rey in extreme pain! At this point, they are going to kill each other! We can't afford to lose Leah! And Rey doesn't deserve to die! As much as some of you want her to lose... she is still too good for death, am I right?"

However, few people want to see Finn go. Not becausd they don't care about them, but because Finn is too heavily injured by the attacks from Lightning.

Poe is the most vehement against Finn's idea.

"Finn, I know both Rey and Leah must live. But Rey was right, you should stop risking your life like that! You are not expendable! Normally I would trust you, but you are too wounded! You might die if you try to stop them.

How would the girls react if you died?"

"How would _I_ react if they died?"

"Well, at least you will be able to feel something if you don't die! Listen to me, Finn... I know you are morally right, but this is too dangerous."

"So? I can't allow to be used as an excuse for these two to kill each other! I have to stop this madness and I will do it even if it means defying my best friend's actually reasonable orders!"

"You are going to die! Please, Finn, stop!"

"Poe, once ypon a time you were also defying orders to save lives. It would have worked if DJ was not a traitor. Where is that old you?"

"Don't you dare compare me to someone who refused to share her plans with anybody! I told you why you have to stay back! She told us nothing! Finn, if you were in a good condition, I would let you go, I would personally fly you there!"

"You know me, though. I am not just going to sit and do nothing while others are in danger, even when thoss others are stronger than me. Don't you remember Kef Bir? Or Pasaana?"

"What you gained from those? Rey mistreating you again? If she hurts you again, she is no longer a member of the Resistance. And neither will be those who take her side."

Even if Poe didn't tell Virago he knows, she would realize he does now.

Poe keeps talking.

"However, if you are so boneheaded as to defy my orders, I will not blame you if you die. The one who killed you will be punished. But I don't want to be responsible for your death either.

All pilots are forbidden to take Finn anywhere until he recovers. He can't pilot, so it's up to all of you to never put himself at risk. And Q, don't use your car either."

"Yes, General."

Poe turns to the others.

"Who could stop them... me, I know them both, but not how Finn does. I think I am the second best choice here. Gray is busy..."

Gray tries to break the mind control of Ace Ray, but whoever did this to him is either too powerful or a reconditioning machine. Gray wishes she could find the people who are directly responsible for this and shove her Gunblade down their throats.

"Virago, well... too close to Rey, as she had healed her, Q himself is too close to Leah... I will go."

Finn disagrees. "No, Poe. The reason they fight is partially me. It's me whom they want. And I spoke to them both.

You, Poe, would just be a voice of reason. It's not enough for them. Even if we exclude me, Rey has done other terrible things to Leah. And I can't have you risk your life, either!"

Finn leaves.

Poe has his head lowered.

"You idiot. I fear this will not end well."

Meanwhile, Leah has fully healed and looks for Rey.

She is in the Central Park again, she can smell her. Especially since she can smell nothing else there.

She rushes at full speed only to see Rey surrounded by withered flowers, fully healed herself... her hair are wild, her eyes are close to yellow, she is laughing like a maniac.

"Rey, I am sorry. I hit your head too hard."

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! This is incredible! Leia was right, the Dark Side is so seductive! So great! I have now power! Unlimited power!"

"Way, way too hard."

"You, Leah Clearwater, stand between the Empress Rey Palpatine and her consort, between me and triumph! I have to admit, you are a worthy opponent! Except a red dragon and the Emperor himself, nobody, nobody pushed me this far!

This will be the greatest battle of my life!"

Leah and Rey charge at each other at full speed, and the latter Force Pushes the former out of the park again, leaping and immediately closing the distance. Then she fires lightning bolt after lightning bolt at the she-wolf, who uses her superhuman speed and wolf senses to dodge all of them. Leah throws a sign at Rey, but she deflects it with the Force.

People stand around in a safe distance and watch this duel, which looks about to demolish the city.

Leah changes into her wolf form, but Rey shatters a glass window and fires large chunks at her. Leah dodges and lunges, but her flesh meets Rey's yellow double saber.

Then Rey manages, using just her foot, to rip six giant chunks of concrete and surround Leah with them.

"Let's see you dodge this."

Leah retaliates with the Seven-Sided Strike, crushing all chunks and wounding Rey herself.

Then she bites her leg, ripping part of her pants and drawing blood.

But Rey stabs her exposed back with her saber and then uses the Force to knock her on her belly. Leah has to roll to avoid the next stab and changes into her human form.

Then she throws Garlic Bombs.

The Palpatine wonders how garlic could effect her, the great Rey, but the bombs make her cough and Leah stakes her in the chest. Rey could sense it with the Force, but Leah was just fast enough to strike before Rey could recover.

"This is for what you did to Little Finn! ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!" Leah finishes her barrage with a Sonic Overdrive, making a hole in Rey's torso and breaking a few bones.

Rey drains more and more flowers, and Leah herself.

"More power... I need more power!"

Then she throws two cars at Leah, who jumps over them with ease, only to be struck by one more, coming from the top. Then she gets squished by the other two cars... but turns out she is still alive. However, she is dizzy.

Rey smirks and prepares another attack. Her strongest bolt of Force Lightning, the one she blew up that transport in Pasaana. The slayer of vampires gets thunderstruck.

"This is your highway to Hell!"

Leah still struggles to get up.

Rey lifts her with the Force.

"And now, for the big wham!"

She starts slamming Leah in building after building.

WHAM!

CRASH!

WHAM!

The sounds of Leah screaming and her bones cracking are music to the woman's ears.

Finally, Leah is launched all the way to Times Square.

Rey has now to look up for the body.

Five minutes later, on the road to New York from Washington, Q drives the still wounded Finn with his car.

"Q, I didn't expect you to defy Poe."

"While this is true, I understand Leah is in grave danger. Someone will die and we have to stop this. If only anyone but you could... I know Poe wanted to go himself.

If we encounter any threats, just leave them to me."

"How will you snipe while driving? We have no ti..."

"Oh, relax, I don't HAVE to snipe."

In Times Square, a few more minutes have passed.

Leah had nearly died by the savage beatdown, but her healing factor allows her to recover.

The Alpha knows there is no way to hide. She smells the air, she tries to sense Rey. When she senses a garbage can flying at her, she dodges it and realizes Rey found her.

The Jedi emerges, floating in the air, surrounded by two rings of rocks.

"Surrender or die, Clearwater. You are weak, and I will make you submit."

"Never."

She turns into her wolf form, and Rey uses eight chunks of concrete, all surrounding her adversary.

**Rey's POV**

You attacked seven times in my last attempt. Let's see if seven is your limit.

She retaliates, and not even the Force can sense this speed. One chunk remains, though Leah avoids it. Good. This is your limit. Now time to charge at me and my two protective rings. Come on! Give it a try!

She doesn't. Well, if she doesn't come to my stones, the stones will come to her.

I fire about thirty of them at Leah, but something is wrong. I can see her in front of me, but can no longer sense her. Instead, I can only sense her behind me.

My rocks get harmlessly through the bitch. How did she manage to project herself with the Force? How is she doing this?

I turn and see her, in human form, lifting a parked car.

Heh. She will need something more to stop the Chosen One.

The car is launched and I stop it in mid-air with the Force. Too easy. I throw it back, but Leah grabs it and charges at me... using it as a club?

Is she mad?

No... she throws it... it's too close to stop!

Come on, my stones! You can block this...

No... they are not good enough!

"AAAAAAARGH! How dare you, furball?"

Leah was right. My pride was an obstacle. I truly need to fight for my life.

"What's wrong?" she asks. "All the power of the Light and the Dark, and you are worried someone can actually fight back? You are not invincible, you are just not challenged enough."

"Well, I have a true challenge now. I should thank you, Leah. You made me adapt. You made me realize my true limits. My true power!"

The Jedi will not help me this time. Nobody is going to help me this time. I expected my powers to get me through again. But as it turns out, I can't finish her off. I can't believe it. I, the great Jedi Rey, have limits! I will not be defeated! I refuse!

She changes into her wolf form and howls.

I know it means "let's finish this".

Let's.

We charge at each other and I perform the first attack with my saber, but it phases through her. She has trained herself pretty hard, hasn't she?

I can't even sense her! Suddenly, I feel like I have been rammed by a Bantha at full speed. Seven times.

Then I can sense Leah again. I read her mind. Afterimage, huh? Made from speedsters. Clever. But will not save you the next time.

She then perform a circle at full speed around me. She is just a gray blur. That's smart of her. If it was most fighters, they would be confused and Leah would use the momentum for a lot of good free hits.

But I am not most fighters. I close my eyes and use the Force to sense her movement instead. And when she lunges, I am ready for her!

My saber strikes home. You will need to try harder than that, Leah. But thanks for making me use my head. She reverts to human form.

There is only one way to finish this!

**Third Person POV**

Rey charges with her yellow saber, while Leah charges with her fists. Rey swings first, but Leah dodges and kicks her so hard in the left side she breaks a rib. Rey winces in pain, growls and attacks again and again, but Leah nimbly dodges every strike.

Rey deactivates her saber, as she did with a Praetorian, and reignites it to slash at Leah's legs, but Finn had told Leah about that move. The Alpha jumps high and backwards, then she lands a double flying kick at the Palpatine, drawing blood. She kicks the saber out of Rey's hands and starts landing hard crosses in her face. Rey manages to kick her and goes for a right hook, but Leah catches the fist and starts crushing it.

The fallen Jedi punches Leah several times while wincing in pain, and throws her to a stop sign. Then she throws a left punch, but Leah ducks and makes her punch the sign instead. As Rey is holding her left hand in pain, her opponent lands rapid jabs with both hands, kicks her in the face and then gets behind her, grabs her shoulders and smashes her back into her knee, cracking her spine.

Rey rolls to avoid the next strike and Force Pushes Leah backwards. Then she calls her saber to come behind Leah and stabs her in the back before she summons it into her waiting hand.

Leah shouts in pain, and Rey lifts her with the Force. Then she slams her from building to building and then sends her on a moving car.

Leah survives the impact and runs away. Rey floats in pursuit of her, tracking her down with the Force. Leah leads her into the narrow streets, forcing her to not use protective stone rings... but Rey rips chunks of buildings and throws them at her adversary in a straight line.

Leah dodges them with ease, being able to sense them. However, a bolt of Force Lightning grazes her.

Rey only pauses for a moment. "I feel a presence in the Force coming closer and closer" she tells to herself. "He is coming. Finn is coming."

She loses sight of Leah, but uses the Force and senses her getting further and further from her. She gives chase at full speed and manages to see her for a moment. She demolishes part of a building and causes an avalanche in front of her, but Leah's titanium crowbar destroys the rubble in a single swing.

The two eventually reach a giant clock. One that counts down for the global warming.

They observe it for a moment.

Leah explains the function of the clock, amusing Rey's curiosity.

"I underestimated your technology, Earthlings. This is impressive even for a scavenger of Jakku. It would be ancient in Coruscant, though."

"Is the comparison to a desert planet damning by faint praise?"

"Not really when in our Galaxy spaceships are ordinary transports."

"You know, Rey, seeing you so vulnerable... I believe you learned your lesson. Maybe we could be friends once more. Just like in Rome..."

"On what terms?"

"You will return my pet mouse, you will stop being an ass to your allies and you will renounce the Dark Side. And Finn will choose himself who ends up with him."

"That's a tempting offer. But I can't do that. Finn will probably choose you. Little Finn makes me feel less alone. And you will not force me to change my attitude. Not like the Dark One did."

"Then... goodbye, my old friend."

"You will kill me?"

"No, just end our friendship and move on."

Rey remembers Finn doing the same. She ignites her saber and charges.

"DIE!"

Leah dodges the first, two-handed strike and kicks Rey so hard she breaks a rib. Then she attacks with her crowbar, but Rey dodges. A cop tries to split the two up, but Rey pushes him away with the Force at full power, sending him crashing into a wall and knocking him unconscious. She doesn't care about his condition at all.

Instead, she focuses on attacking Leah with rapid strikes. However, Clearwater is not going to let Rey attack civilians. She manages to dodge two swings and strike her right hand with her crowbar.

"This hand kept being given only to the wrong people. I am surprised it is not already cut off."

"I am nothing like what I was during the imprint."

"Then why do you still attack innocents without caring if they are alright while you are dueling a dangerous enemy? And how can you call yourself a Jedi while doing that?"

"I can't. But I am aware I am using the Dark Side now. I got this far because temptation gave me a lot. Luke said falling for temptation is weakness. Let's see how true this is!"

The saber and the crowbar clash and Leah's weapon gets a shallow cut due to the impact. The werewolf manages to kick Rey, but the scavenger nicks her in the arm. Leah performs a roundhouse kick, but Rey ducks under and then does three saber slashes. However Leah dodges all of them and goes for a gut punch that the smaller woman dodges.

Due to her hurting dominant hand, Rey does the next saber swing clumsily and misses. Leah elbows her in the torso and sends her backwards with a Sonic Overdrive in the jaw, cracking it and making blood come from the former Jedi's mouth.

Leah dashes to land another punch, but Rey grabs a civilian with the Force and uses her as a meat shield. Then, as Leah hesitates, Rey strikes her with Force Lightning and throws the innocent woman into a wall, knocking her out instantly.

"I do not care anymore. I will not be defeated here. Not by the likes of you! I am far more powerful! You shouldn't be cornering me! I am the Chosen One. I am the savior of the Galaxy! A lowly werewolf is not going to rob me of my destiny!"

In her anger, Rey Force Chokes Leah to near-death. As Leah struggles to breathe, Rey's left hand crackles with her most powerful bolt of Force Lightning.

"Guess Grandpa was right. The Dark Side is more powerful! If you were one of the Dark One's assassins, you would have beaten me by now!"

"Look, Rey. Nobody said Leah was a nice girl. In fact, the flaw I am most known for is my lack of manners. While Finn was able to act polite after what you did to him, me and my memories from my old pack were not so kind to you.

I don't have a "no killing" rule. When you face vampires who eat three people a day, or criminals who groom children to be their sex slaves, you can't reform such people.

When people belittle me for doing nothing wrong, I talk back to them, and watch with glee as those little bitches play the victim.

When someone has everything handed to them, and think the world revolves around them and they are so superior they can manipulate everyone, I don't even need to throw a punch to make them cry.

However, Rey, I will not do true evil. I don't kill helpless adversaries, especially when they have any redeeming qualities, a hole in their head, or both. I will also do everything to not harm any civilians whatsoever, while you probably will sleep well after attacking them on purpose. I am not like the Dark One's forces. Know right now, that if you kill me as I am down, you will become a monster like Palpatine."

Rey thinks about it, hesitates a little... then she keeps charging.

"Come on!" Leah taunts. "I am helpless! Kill me, and Finn is going to hate your fucking guts! Don't think he will love you just because I am out of the picture! I know him, and he will never forget me."

"But at least, if I don't have him, nobody will. After you die, Rose Tico, who was more toxic to him than us two combined, will meet you in the Underworld."

Rey hesitates. She alters between charging and stopping. The Skywalker part of her wants to stop. The Palpatine part of her wants to off Leah.

Leah waits. She doesn't want to throw a punch, because that could push Rey even further into the edge.

Palpatine tells Rey to kill Leah, telling her Finn will love her and submit to her. This makes Rey hesitate further and Leah smile...

Then Palpatine says something else. "Nobody but me brought you this close to death. Let her live, and you will be a second choice to the woman who broke your head and called you a criminal. You killed me and are proud of it. She was so close to kill you too. Finish her! If you hesitate, she will fully heal and punch through you! You know she can do it. Do it first!"

And Rey fully charges the bolt. And she fires.

However, Leah's words and Rey's own hesitation resulted in stalling for time.

Time Finn desperately wanted, as he used the Force to track the women down.

Seeing Rey about to fire, he could not sit and do nothing. He could shoot Rey, but he can't bring himself. He could Force Push Leah out of the way, but is afraid Rey will just fire another shot. Doing nothing is out of the question. He can't tell them to stop, it did not work in the past. The Jedi has only one choice.

He knows Poe wants the best for him. Q told him Poe was secretly proud of him, but really wanted Finn safe. Finn, however, sees no other way...

Except jumping in the way of the bolt. Due to his prior injuries, he immediately falls unconscious.

[His Theme](https://youtu.be/IkOK8tdEsFY)

Rey's smirk turns into an expression of absolute horror. She is completely stunned, her mouth hung open.

Leah can feel her blood boiling.

"Finn! Idiot! No... no... no... this is not happening... she didn't just..."

She cries, holding Finn's body in her arms.

"How could you... how could you... I could have lived through... Finn... no..."

Rey approaches slowly, filled with guilt.

Leah sees her and stands up.

"Don't you dare touch him, **monster.** "

The Skywalker feels about to burst in tears.

Out of anger, Leah punches her so hard she is laying on the ground. Rey feels she deserves it.

"W... what have I done?"

"You hurt him. You hurt him, like you **always** did!"

Leah is about to punch through Rey.

But at the last second, she stops.

Rey is now crying too.

"I did not mean to! I did not want this! Why did you stop? Kill me! Please kill me!"

Leah just folds her arms. "No, Rey. I can't. I do not kill a helpless enemy."

"N... no? But I..."

"You and I used to be friends. I want to respect our old friendship."

"But Finn..."

"He could have attacked you. But he didn't. He didn't because he wanted you to live. If I kill you, I will turn into you. I would disrespect Finn. I know him very well. He didn't even need to say his last wish.

You get to live. You get to think about everything you have done! Finn believed in you. So, I, myself, will give you one last chance.

Seeing you crying, seeing you have genuine remorse... I no longer hate you, Rey. I believe you can change. For the man both of us loved."

Rey runs away, gracelessly, weeping, her pride torn to shreds. She can't even stand to her full height.

Leah carries Finn, the foolish but selfless man, in her arms. Then she tries to find out who carried him there.

Q reveals himself.

"Leah, are you ok?"

Leah can't even answer, she just looks at the man in her arms.

Q's heart breaks.

"Finn? Oh no. Oh God no. I am sorry, Leah. It's my fault. I brought him here to help."

"Q, you did what you thought was right. Finn saved my life and Rey's thanks to you. I do not blame you for anything."

"But, Poe gave orders for him to stay. I defied Poe's orders, believing Poe was secretly proud of him and would show it if Finn got unharmed..."

"But he isn't unharmed. I fear he is dead."

"Damn it! I wanted him to be safe. I failed to protect him."

"It's not your fault, Q. Drive us back, I am too weakened myself."

Q drives Leah and Finn back to the base, where Poe and the rest of the squad is.

Seeing Leah holding Finn in her arms, Poe feels his heart breaking.

He turns to Q.

"Why did you let him go? He was in no shape to fight! You knowingly defied my orders! I thought you were loyal to me, Q!

This is exactly what I feared!"

"But... you would be proud of him for doing everything to save lives."

"Of course, and I still kinda am, but I sure as heck did not want him to be injured! I am not Holdo, Q, and you know it. I told Finn what's wrong! Holdo told us nothing! I know when to fold and when not!"

"I am sorry, Poe. I just wanted to help Leah, and so did Finn."

"Just to let you know, I tried to find someone else to send instead. I even wanted to go myself, but really wasn't sure they would listen."

Virago approaches Leah and Finn.

"Finn? Are you ok?"

"He is not. No thanks to Rey."

"Did you kill her?"

"No. She did not deserve it."

"Good. Because if you did _I_ would have killed _you._ "

Leah glares at Virago, causing her to cower in fear. She was not afraid of the Dinolfos she had fought, but Leah's stare was even worse.

"So, Virago... you were the one spying for Rey. You are very, very lucky I learned that now. No, I don't blame you for Finn getting hurt. I am sure you wanted Rey to come back to the Light.

Also, I can no longer hate Rey. And if I can't hate her, how can I hate someone who wanted her to reconcile with Finn?

No. I saw the true Rey in battle. Do you know what I feel now about her, what she really deserves? Pity. An imprint made her cloud her judgement, her ego prevented her from seeing there are other heroes apart from her, she did not realize how she treated her best friend until he told her, and do you know how she was when Finn got struck on purpose?

She was genuinely _heartbroken_. Begging me to kill her. I refused. I want her to realize she was wrong. And she is already there. She could indeed be saved, and thus she did not deserve to die."

Virago senses the Force inside Finn.

Knowing very well she is going to face exile if Finn is dead, but mostly because she is very worried about him.

"He is alive. He is still alive."

Leah kisses him in the forehead.

"Finn, I love you. Thank you. For everything."

Meanwhile, in the Palace of Twilight, Zant gives a report to a cloud with three glowing eyes.

"My lord, it seems their infighting has nearly broken them. Finn is probably dead, Rey and Leah are in horrible condition, nobody among them has the spirit to fight."

"Great. Keep an eye on them. If it changes, come to my castle... and report to me in person."

"Yes, Great One."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Best moments of Rey and Leah? 
> 
> Did you like the ending? 
> 
> There is only one chapter left. For the plot to be fully resolved.
> 
> Next chapter: Paths are cemented, and the Dark One shows their face.


	10. Death of a Palpatine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey's rampage has been stopped, but at an awful cost. Finn is in a terrible condition, the morale of everyone has dropped and Rey thinks she killed Finn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it, everyone! The last chapter of the fic! The big duel is done, Starfleet is repelled, but... it's not over yet! Rey has still to deal with the consequences of her actions. Will she manage to save her soul?

Leah is still standing above the comatose Finn.

"Finn... if you die, I am not going to join you. There are many people who need someone to defend them from injustice and harm.

No, that's not me. Instead, I want to continue the legacy we built together. Like how you kept Master Toni's legacy alive. I will keep saving innocents. I will keep fighting crime. I will keep spreading happiness. And when the Dark One falls, I want you to watch it from Heaven.

But you will not die, right? You and I lived through so many things together and alone. We did not live through so many things, abuse, Knights of Ren, vampires, an Archdemon, just for you to get killed to save some... no, I can't insult her anymore. She is broken enough.

I know you wanted to save us both, but Poe was right. Why did you come? I could have survived! I am more durable! I can heal quickly!

This was avoidable. Or maybe not? Maybe it was necessary to stop both Rey and me.

I want you to stay here with us, Finn. Is it selfish to say I will miss the way you always fought for me? Then again, I have been called selfish unfairly so many times. That insult is not new to me.

I want you to promise me something. Can you stop putting yourself in danger? Can you stop getting hurt? I am not blaming you. I can't blame anyone but Rey, and even she aimed for me and regretted what she did. I can't be angry at anyone. But I want you safe and happy. I could let you live with her! I could, if she wasn't so horrible to you.

You need to be with someone who truly loves you. I truly love you, Finn! I want to listen to your voice, to see you smile again.

I know why you are in such a condition. I will not let your sacrifice go to waste. You saved both me and Rey. And in this world, my love... you reap what you sow."

She touches Finn's skin. It's still warm. Leah breathes a sigh of relief.

"Now let's right some wrongs."

And she dashes out of the base after informing Poe.

Meanwhile, in the capital of the Unicornicopia Empire, Starfleet headquarters, Krysta returns to Lightning. She used a portal to see what Finn did to save Rey and Leah.

"Lightning! Lightning! General Finn is in a horrible condition."

"I know I beat him hard, but did anything else happen?"

Krysta tells Lightning the last moments of the fight.

Lightning smiles.

"So, Finn got himself killed and made that Rey he kept comparing me to cry? It seems like he followed the way Grand Ruler taught me. Looks like my mentor was right all along."

"No. I saw what happened. He did not get hurt just to spite Rey. He did not do it because she looked at another man. He did it because if he didn't act, the other girl... Leah? That was her name? She would die. He intentionally took the blast to stop them from fighting each other.

No, your adversary got struck not to cause Rey to suffer... but to make sure it ends."

"Then he failed, Krysta. I want you to watch them. And watch them carefully. I am starting to think that maybe, maybe friendship is useful. If it can save them... then I probably need to learn a lot.

But if the way Rey treats Finn makes the latter vengeful, or if someone does not manage to end their suffering with anything but death... if Finn realizes the world is against him... then Grand Ruler is indeed always right. I am too wounded and everyone will know who I am. Can you please see for me?

Oh, and Krysta... thank you. For bringing me to safety. For caring about me. You are a true friend."

"No, Lightning... thank you."

The fairy hides her blush. The closer Lightning was to Grand Ruler, the more he valued her portals more than her as a person. Hearing him complimenting her because she cares for him was something she truly missed.

Back to the Resistance headquarters, Finn opens his eyes. He sees Poe in front of him.

"Hello, buddy. You must have a thousand questions."

"Where is Leah?"

"She went to do what she would do if you died."

"Please tell me she..."

"She wanted to continue your legacy out of respect. She is finishing what you started."

In Rey's hotel room, the Jedi is on her bed, curled into a ball. Opposite of her is Little Finn.

"I lost him, my dear. I killed him. I am horrible.

Soon, Leah will come to take you back from me. I can feel her. I can feel her coming. Maybe she can also avenge Finn's death.

The worst thing isn't that Finn died. I lived through loss in the past. And as much as the Dark One wanted to make me kill myself to join Ben in the afterlife, I valued myself before the horrible man that ruined me for a year and killed countless innocents.

It's that he died by my strike. I broke my promise of never hitting him again. I might have been better than in the past, I managed to be free, but still had so much to learn. I was still blinded by the Darkness, thinking I was doing good. I am a monster, just like my grandfather.

I feel Leah coming. Why doesn't she hate me? She should have been so angry at me!"

Leah knocks on the door.

"It's open."

Leah gets inside.

"I have to admit, if not for my senses and Virago telling me where to find you, I would never have guessed you hide in an ordinary hotel room. That was actually very smart, as nobody would suspect that. You are pretty sharp when you want to be."

"Just take what you want and leave me alone."

Little Finn immediately runs into the hands of Leah, who puts him close to her cheek and fondles him.

"I am sorry, little one. I promise I will never leave you behind again. It was my fault."

"Squeak."

"Oh, thank you for forgiving me."

Rey interrupts. "How do you know..."

"We understood each other ever since we lived together in prison."

Then Leah turns to Rey.

The Scavenger closes her eyes.

"Do what you must, Clearwater."

"Why should I kill you? You are too pitful for me to do so. What you did broke you enough. I am not here to kill you. I am here to save Little Finn.

And to tell you something. Finn is not dead."

Rey's face brightens. "He is not?"

"No. He cheated death, as he always found a way to do. He cannot move at all, though. It was a really close call. He had some broken bones even before you struck him."

"And he still..."

"Sadly, Rey, we have no healer to save him from what you did. If only there was someone to close the wounds you caused him...

Before I leave, I will tell you something. Finn let me saw the true you, Rey. You are not evil. You are just sad. A soul that really needs help."

And then Leah exits the door, reunited with her friend through her darkest times at last.

Rey's expression changes.

She stays a little, to think.

She reaches out to Virago.

"You knew she wanted to save me, Virago?"

"Yes. I did."

"Thank you, Virago. You are a great friend."

"Of course. I know you are flawed, like Finn, Poe, Leah, me. But even after everything you did... I still believed in you. I knew you could be saved."

Rey thinks of Leah's offer.

However, the Emperor, no, the killer of Rey's parents, urges her to refuse.

"No, my granddaughter. Do not sacrifice your life force for these people. After what you did, they see you as a pathetic creature. They all look down on you for nearly killing Finn. Leah didn't just force you to do a job for her, she also took your remaining company with her.

Do you really trust Leah Clearwater? She came this close to killing you! I am not less trustworthy than her! Plus, Leah is not your family, and she is not a reason one of your abusers is dead. All she did to you was to take, take and take.

And Poe? He did not trust you. He saw you getting the dagger, going to Kef Bir, and made faces behind your back. And when you sent him to retrieve Finn, he left you and stayed with him.

Virago only cares about you because you healed her and wants you to train her. She will not respect your choices. If you freely choose to follow my footsteps, she is going to hate you. She is using you so she can become stronger.

BB-8 is just a worthless droid. It has no soul, it is no living being. Do you think it can actually feel for you?

Finally, Finn himself. He no longer loves you. His heart belongs to someone else. He has you as an afterthought. He lost you, and used Leah to get back at you. Do you think he is happy you wounded him? Or with your attitude in general? Why would you heal a man who is angry about you? Who hates you?

The rest are too insignificant for you. Not worth talking to. You don't even know most of them. You have no reason to defend them either."

Rey's look would have brought down a Stormtrooper.

"You are my grandfather no longer, Palpatine."

"What? How dare you..."

"You killed my family! You ruined countless people in the Galaxy for your selfish lust for power! You turned Anakin into a killing machine!"

"His own obsession made him easy."

"And yet you were too stupid to do the same with the alrwady corrupt Kylo. By the way, I regret everything I did to make sure he escapes consequences, but that's beside the point. You are even worse!

The people you say are my enemies? None of them is a true enemy. Leah? Sure, we are rivals, but she had the chance to kill me and blew it three times. She stopped hating. Am I weaker than her?

Poe made faces behind my back? To be fair, I did a lot of mistakes there. And even though we argued a lot, we always just played games, drank and fought together right after. Friendships aren't perfect, but Poe was a good, loyal friend.

Don't you dare speak of Virago! After everything I have done, she always believed in me and still does, even risking her life to spy for me, back when Leah actually hated me. And she has every right to feel gratitude for me healing her. She cared about me more than you ever did, and she is just a fan of me.

Finn is too good for you to bring up, abomination! He went to defend me, even when I did not need help, without knowing me! We fought so many obstacles together. He always wanted to help, even without being as powerful as me. Sure, sometimes I ran off... but it was my fault.

Even when I lost him, he still cared. Unlike you, who killed me and my family, he refused to throw a punch at me even when I did and he showed he could fight back. And in the final battle with Leah, he could have done anything else. Shoot me. Tell us to stop. Attack me with the Force, as I have done in the past. But no, he did not. He preferred to hurt himself instead of me.

And about Kylo? Your Snoke, your meat puppet, made him the monster he was. Sure, Kylo was aware of what he was doing, but you aren't blameless either! And let's not speak about what you did to the Stormtroopers! You deserved to lose your Sith Fleet by one of them.

Finally, about those I don't know? A true Jedi always helps those they do not know. Because they put others before themselves. Something YOU are incapable of doing. The Sith Order is built in selfishness!"

"So? What's wrong about thinking about yourself? You gain more power, more wealth, everything! I once ruled the Galaxy, Rey! I had everyone eating by my hand! You should look up to my successes! While the Traitor? Nobody aknowledges him! Nobody! He had only scorn from you and others! And Poe? He is seen as a hotheaded idiot because he could see further than that foolish princess! And you? People hate you for rejecting me and calling yourself Skywalker! They hate you for being childish, for not accepting Kylo sooner! The only thing that's glossed over is how you fell for temptation, which some consider to be the source of your strength."

"You are the Dark One!"

"I am not. I will be honest one last time, Rey. I really, really want to become the Dark One. But there are two problems. If I was, I would not hide for twenty years in Exegol and make sure nobody found me. Instead, I would stay in Hell itself and create my army with both the Dark One's demons and my own Sith Troopers. I was hiding form him as much as I was hiding from Leia. And, above all else, I would not be a powerless husk in life support. Second, I can do a lot of things. Including burning a fleet alone with my Force Lightning. But I wanted to make a Dyad between me and Vader. If I was the person who binded you and Kylo, I would also succeed with Vader.

So, while your suspicion can be backed up, Rey, it is false."

"But you made Snoke..."

"If I had my full power, I could still not make him through the Force. I had machines. Very evolved ones. With Midichlorians. And I know what you will say next. That I would have learned how to make a Dyad after Vader killed us both. Maybe, if I had all of my power. But it was created before I did. I could only absorb it to become strong again. Snoke could only make a regular mental bond, but not affect souls.

This is why I wanted you to be free of the Dyad. To kill the Dark One for me."

"You are not the Dark One. But you are just as bad as him. In fact, I know your evil more than his. You corrupted, oppressed, killed so many people, you disgusting insult to geezers. I don't want to do anything with you, or for you! You nearly ruined my life after I managed to break through my chains, and used my trauma to make me your puppet. You did to me what you did to Anakin! Thank the Force Finn took a hit for his loved ones and refused to strike me, and Leah spared me too, while Anakin lost all his limbs.

You were this close to make me a second Vader. Kylo was no Vader. He was worse. Oh, and you know what you don't have, Kylo doesn't have, and I almost didn't have because of our evil? What Finn, Poe, Luke, Leia, Han, Chewbacca and Kenobi always had? Friends. Anakin was your puppet, not your friend. You were always alone, and now you still are!

I reject you, Palpatine! I, Rey Skywalker, will fix everything I broke with my actions!

Now, get out."

"You can't do this to me! I am the reason you exist. I am the reason you are so powerful and do not need friends."

"Even the most powerful do need friends. And power isn't everything. If it goes to your head, so can an enemy strike. Bullying my friends and treating them like they are useless is not me. You and the Dark One both tried to destroy me and failed.

I said, get out!"

Palpatine starts showing cracks. "Finn no longer wants you! Take him by force! Take what you want!"

"Taking will not earn trust. And before you bring my imprint... I had my free will slowly ripped. I was the one in the wrong. But I can fix it. I can make things right. I can right the wrongs of Anakin too."

"I will give you the power to save him." Palpatine whimpers.

"Force Healing? I have the power. I just used it in the wrong people. And I am going to fix that too.

Go away, and never! Come! **Back!** "

Every sentence Rey said made one more crack to the Emperor. The last one shatters him into a million pieces and these fade away.

Rey takes her gear and leaves the hotel room for good, paying a lot of money she gathered by killing wanted criminals. The owner was a black woman who was happy to hear about the Hatemonger's downfall.

Rey Palpatine is dead. In her ashes, Rey Skywalker is reborn.

As she walks, she hears Ben's voice.

"Rey? Where are you going?"

"To save my true love. I will confess something. I never loved you. My heart belongs to Finn. The man who always tried to do what was right even when he had no choice.

Our kiss means nothing, Ben. Both you and I know what binded us."

"I also know who binded us."

"I will figure that out myself. I want to see if you were truly saved. Can you love your parents and regret everything you did to me and my friends if you learn I regret chasing after you, excusing you and kissing you?"

"I am sorry, Rey. I will not talk to you again. I know you deserve more than me."

"Don't think this excuses you from everything you did. Or that I will choose you over anyone else anymore. I am sorry myself. I can no longer trust you, ever."

Ben also vanishes, with no clear expression.

Rey hears one last voice while going.

The one she heard under the Dyad.

"Remember, Rey. You are the Chosen One. The Balance is in your hands. Whatever you do is right."

"No. Everyone is wrong sometimes. We all fall down. But the strong can get back up. I am Rey Skywalker. Nothing is right because I do it. I do things because they are right."

"And is your pride so insignificant to sacrifice it for others?"

"They did not slight me. I did. So... yes?"

"Beware. For your path will be your destruction."

"No. I know very well what nearly destroyed me. And I am not doing the same mistakes again."

The voice stops.

Rey keeps going. It's never too late to fix what she broke. Each step she takes, she feels a weight becoming lighter and lighter, she hesitates less and less.

She senses a sublimal message.

YOU SAVED THE GALAXY ALONE, WITH BEN

YOU DO NOT NEED YOUR FRIENDS

THEY ARE NOTHING

THEY NEVER HELPED YOU

"I would have died several times without them. Just because you tried to erase them from my heart and history does not mean it's the truth!"

Rey enters the Falcon. She can't leave her behind.

Meanwhile, Leah stands above the man she loves, reading stories to him. He still can't move, he can only listen, see and speak.

"And then, the evil, handsome man offered the girl riches and power if she just left her friends for him. He even showed her his big, attractive chest.

But the heroine was not someone who would submit to temptation. She punched him in the face and declared true beauty is on the inside."

"How many copies of this book are here?"

"Just this one. Since the Dark One took over, they ordered to burn all books which preached against temptation, or deconstructed abuse. History, as you know, has heavy, heavy censorship."

"I know very well."

"Also, there were other taboos. I heard a vampire saying Ganondorf the Powerful was real."

"Who is he?"

"A fairy tale. When I was a little girl and my speed was getting to my head, my mother, Sue, told me the story to scare me. I could not sleep for a week. Fortunately, such a creature was not real, as she told me when she saw my terrible condition.

The Volturi killed that vampire in cold blood. Then they burned the corpse. Aro insisted these fairy tales were stupid. He was absolutely sure the vampires were the supreme species, and the Cullens actually agreed with him on that one. Nothing to them was above the vampiric kind, and Aro saw himself as chosen by God."

"We in the First Order had similar lies fed to us. Luke Skywalker... he was portrayed as the monster who killed the hero Darth Vader and burned his corpse. He also was shown as a mass murderer who destroyed a giant inhabitable planet designed to keep peace in the Galaxy. As for Han, he was portrayed as a corrupt mob boss who was worse than Jabba the Hutt and fed those who disagreed with him to his pet Wookie.

Slip was scared of them, and Nines loathed the heroes of the Rebellion. Zeroes believed only some of these fairy tales. Phasma probably knew the truth but lied to us about these happening all the time. And I? I initially believed these, but as I was growing up, I was more and more sceptical. One year before my defection, I realized everything was utter bullshit, especially when we were making Starkiller.

That made me like Luke Skywalker secretly, because I realized he probably blew up a similar weapon of mass destruction. Of course I told nobody that they were taught lies. I was not what you see now. I was a small boy, and too scared to say anything. I feared reconditioning, which was if Phasma wasn't kind enough to execute me. I have heard rumors about reconditioning. They wanted us all to become mindless slaves. Maybe they would replace us with clones in the future, as they were very effective."

"Speaking of clones, have you seen the faces of the Sith Troopers?" Poe asks.

"Never. I don't even remember them speaking. Only a Sith Acolyte, one I fought and got my Kyber crystal for my current saber over his dead body, did taunt me. Of course Palpatine would send a Force Sensitive minion to guard the most important part of his fleet. He was taking blue crystals and tried to bleed them red. With that Knight stalling me with beneficial results to the First Order, I would say that was my first actual victory over a Force user. And he didn't even wound me."

"Any shouts?"

"Actually yes. I saw the late Cara Dune breaking the neck of one. The Sith Trooper did scream. I don't think they were actual monsters, like the Reapers. They were probably very zealous volunteers."

"Or very zealous clones."

"Wait!" Gray interrupts. "Cara Dune died? I loved her in her story!"

"Yes, Gray. But that's a story for another time. She was a true heroine... without her, I probably couldn't reach far. If you want, I will tell you the full story for another time. Exegol was a hard battle."

"Was Din Dinjarin there too?"

"Yes" Poe replies. "He single-handedly took down one of the planet-busters on his ship, then went on foot to fight the Sith Troopers of a second one to assist his Mandalorian forces. But I do not want to remember the battle. We lost many good fighters. Snap was an expert pilot, he managed once to defeat four TIE Fighters of the First Order simultaneously.

But he died against the Final Order. Kare', his wife, shot down his killers with her X-Wing. Seeing how she had nothing to lose, she charged at the enemy horde and nearly died. It would be suicide. But we value everyone in the Resistance. Jessika Pava saved her and even took down a cannon with her own fighter."

Leah turns to Poe. "Jessika did the right thing. Everyone would be sad when they lose a loved one. I was at a loss when I saw Finn nearly dead. I was one step away from killing Rey and stopped because she showed remorse. And when I lost my brother because of the Silver Moblins, I hated the Black Legion and neved forgave them for it. But I did not kill myself. And hope Rey doesn't do so either."

She hugs Little Finn, happy she has her pet back.

"Now I have the little one back, and there is no longer a reason to hold a grudge against her."

Finn focuses with the Force. "Speaking of the devil."

[Her theme](https://youtu.be/IkOK8tdEsFY)

Rey barges in like a hunted deer, and immediately falls on her knees. Her eyes are full of tears, she doesn't even dare to look at the man she once had by her side and is now surrounded by friends on a bed he can no longer get up from.

"Finn... I was wrong. I am sorry about everything I put you through."

Finn looks at her directly. If she could get up and see him, even she would shiver. "Go on. I am listening."

"I should have never treated you like garbage while going in great lengths to find good in the man who tortured me and Poe and nearly killed you because you were defending my hide! I always used to act like you did not deserve me, and indeed, you did not. You deserved better.

I... I can't bring myself to see you about to die because of my foolishness. And you didn't do that out of spite either, I know that. You did it to protect your loved ones... including me."

Tears keep flowing on her rosy cheeks, she still can't find the strength to get up.

"I was horrible to you, Finn! I am sorry for every time I struck you for no reason at all, for every time I treated you like a burden, for every time I kept trusting Kylo over you! Why did I do that? Even I do not know! You know me, he never did!

The Dark Side clouded my mind! I had no critical thinking! You are so much more than someone who shouts my name. I was told everything! Everything!

And then I lost you! I got better, but then... Palpatine used my love for you. I love you, I did since you came back for me in Starkiller and were willing to fight Kylo for me. He wanted to turn it into an obsession, he..."

"Palpatine is alive?"

"No. He only was in my head. But I rejected him! I destroyed him! I also rejected Kylo and regretted every single moment I tried to excuse him while yelling at you when you actually did good. I am sorry! Sorry for all of these! Can you... forgive me?"

Poe and Leah are skeptical.

Gray asks her something else. "And what about the Mind Trick? You used brainwashing on one of your closest allies, you knew he was once a slave..."

Finn stops her. "It never happened. I would resist it and it was too low even for her."

Rey turns to Poe.

"I also owe you an apology. After learning what Kylo did to you, to both of us, how and why could I give him more attention than you? I was terrible not just to Finn, but you as well! If I trusted you all sooner, I would not be in this mess!"

Leah turns to Finn. "Forgive her, but please not hook up with her! Remember everything we did together? I never acted like her! Once or twice maybe, but to protect you, not my own ego!"

Virago, on the other hand, begs Finn to forgive her. "Please! She is telling the truth! She admitted everything! Forgive her! All of you have suffered enough, including Rey herself!"

Finn smiles at the once proud Chosen One. "Well, looks like you sacrificed your pride for your life, love and friends. Rey, I am really happy you showed up here. The reason I took that hit was simple. I wanted you to regret everything you did... but I did not want you dead. I couldn't bring myself to hit you back once."

"And this is why I have a lot to learn from you, Finn." She finally looks him in his eyes. His gaze is softer than expected.

"Yes. But I also had my own pride backfire on me a few times. You see, I have a friend who is dying and nobody of us can save her. Rey, your words might be true, but I want actions. However, you are still very redeemable. I think you can heal the scars you left in my entire team.

After you do, I will forgive you."

Rey, without the imprint to cloud her otherwise strong mind, immediately realizes what to do. She closes her eyes and starts Force Healing Finn. Already she manages to cure the burn from her own lightning bolt when Finn stops her.

"Not me first. This innocent woman is dying. You don't know her, but I do, and she is a great person. Save her first."

Rey goes to the Poet instead and gives her life force to her. The Poet's insides stop freezing... the blood starts boiling... all the organs are fixed... Finn watches in awe as the Poet's eyes open and she stands back up, alive and perfectly healthy!

Rey feels herself exhausted.

Then she goes to heal Finn too.

**Rey's POV**

I don't care I lost much life force to heal that woman. I did what was right. Now to heal Finn. I don't care if it kills me! I healed war criminals after just fighting them! Time to show Finn the truth! That I indeed care about him!

I will no longer be alone... I will no longer be alone... I will no longer be alone...

**Third Person POV**

Rey closes her eyes again and heals Finn. The ribs Lightning Dawn has smashed are fixed quickly. The internal bleeding from Finn's stomach stops as the entire area is healed.

And Rey knows she has one more mistake to fix. She washed her mouth. She rejected Palpatine. She apologized to Finn for everything. But she knows one more thing that rightfully caused Finn's anger. Rey bothered to close Kylo's scar, but not Finn's. Why? Because the "Force", no, _the Dark One_ , said so.

She knows her life force is now in low levels, but she has to do this. He gave a lot to her. Time for her to risk something too. To save him.

As Finn feels his scar closing, so does Rey. She feels like something she always was, but used to be tainted by a lot of Darkness. _A hero._

She drops on all fours, sweating, but her smile was that of someone who had just blew up a Death Star.

She could feel Luke and Leia approving. Luke's voice is heard in her ears. "Everyone makes mistakes. But only true Jedi try to fix them, even the smallest ones."

"But Vader, Kylo, Palpatine..."

"There is always a line, but you never crossed it, Rey. Yet you put double the effort to fix everything and succeeded. My sister and I are proud of you, Rey Skywalker."

"Thanks, Master Luke."

Rey turns to her once enemy, Leah.

"Do you want to be cured? From your sterility?"

"No. For three good reasons. First, I do not want anyone to see my inability to have kids as a flaw, my role is not a breeder. Second, if it could be healed, my body has a healing factor that can restore anything non-lethal in hours at most. It would cure this inability by itself. Third, I can always adopt a child. After all, you ARE Rey Skywalker."

Rey's mouth opens.

Finn tells the Poet to poke his back. She does so and he feels nothing. Usually, his scar should be itching!

Finn offers his hand and helps Rey get up. The two hug. "Rey... I forgive you. Welcome back to the team."

"Kiss?"

"No. I am taken."

"Aw damn."

Krysta was watching them and went to inform Lightning. 

"Lightning! I saw them! Finn forgave Rey." She explains exactly what happened.

"So, friendship is far from useless after all..."

\-------

[Awaken](https://youtu.be/XUhVCoTsBaM)

**Doom Castle, lair of the Dark One**

Lord Zant is walking a corridor, dimly lit by a few torches. Between the torches there are red flags. Each has a blue boar with crimson hair on it.

He only teleported to the top floor and not directly to the throne room to enjoy the view of his god's castle.

He orders the Reapers to let him pass and then keeps walking. He climbs a lot of stairs, one hundred and fifty, to get to his lord.

He finally gets on top and the cameras recognize him. This saves him from having to pass acidic arrows. The next corridors are surprisingly bright. An organ is playing and Zant takes a moment to admire the mosaics. One of them shows Zant himself leading the Shadow Beasts, another shows him killing an old Resistance hero known as Baggett.

They also show his fellow High Generals. A bulky knight in shining armor smashing the walls of a city and slaughtering many human knights.

"Foolish Hylians... too weak for Onox."

Then he sees a tall woman with blue skin stabbing a tan woman with her Sais.

Also another woman who has blue skin choking a human soldier.

"Veran, you might be the weakest of us without your tricks, but you are no joke."

And finally, a completwly white effeminate demon using his sword to cut a soldier of Heaven in half. Then the same demon uses his knives to pierce the heart of a hero dressed in green.

"Ghirahim, you are always my best friend among the other generals."

Finally, there is a giant mosaic of Pan, the man whose group assisted Stormwolf at some moments, being stabbed by a hulking man in armor. That man has green skin and long, red hair.

"Ah yes, my lord always wants to remember his victories."

The organ plays louder and louder. Zant feels the Darkness, the hate surrounding him. It would overwhelm lesser beings, it could even destroy them. But there were some creatures like Palpatine who became stronger from such a thing. Zant was another example. He makes a motion similar to inhaling the Darkness, he lets it make him even stronger.

There are a few guards here. The Praetorians, who are all purple-clad and full of light armor. Elite fighters, able to take down even experienced heroes. And the Barons, noblemen of the Underworld.

Zant gets past all of them and enters the final door.

Two Praetorians stop him.

"Did you bring the skull for the Great One to drink?"

"No, I did not. He only drinks from a golden cup."

"All your titles, Zant."

"I am Zant, King of Twilight, Lord of Shadows, High General to the Great One!"

"You may pass."

The Praetorians activate a fiery barrier in front of Zant. Zant simply teleports around it.

"He was the real deal."

Zant finally gets inside the throne room, when suddenly the organ stops.

And suddenly purple smoke surrounds the room. It mostly surrounds the throne, where Zant can see the figure who was playing the organ sitting without even getting up.

Three glowing eyes looks at Zant through the smoke.

Zant kneels and bows down, his head nearly touching the floor.

"Oh Great One, I have terrible news. It's about Rey, the Chosen One of her Galaxy."

**"Tell me, High General."**

"She would either die or kill Leah and completely fall to the Dark Side... but Finn had to intervene. He nearly died by her and there was a possibility of her killing herself... but Leah didn't let her even do that. Rey did not submit in the end.

She shallowed her own pride. She went to Stormwolf and fell on her knees. Then she apologized for everything. And I mean everything.

She even healed the wounds of Finn and the Nutty Poet. They forgave her. They all forgave her. The Chosen One is surrounded by friends now."

The smoke clears, exposing the true face of the Dark One. He is very tall, has green skin, long red hair which reach his shoulders, and as it turns out, the third eye is actually a jewel in his forehead.

"The Resistance is being reborn, Zant. I had caused its destruction a few years ago. But I know that as long as one of them remains, they will try to fight back with everything they have got.

I know potential threats when I see them. That's why I censored Finn's accomplishments and the Stormtrooper Uprising, and painted Leah as a bitter strawman. They would create too many enemies. Stormwolf has become an annoyance. And Rey no longer is of any use to me.

Dispose of them."

"Yes, oh great Ganondorf."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will be honest. I do not want Rey dead. I want her to be thoroughly called out and her being a terrible friend to backfire, while Finn and Poe get appreciated and more chances to shine bc they aren't stuck with anyone who has an ego the size of the Death Star.
> 
> But does she deserve to die? Fuck no. Because, like Lightning, Rey is a heroine. She might have a big head and bad judge of character, but she will help those in need, will stop any criminal (she does fight against Kylo multiple times), is actually a victim etc. etc. Also, she is a badass and saved the Galaxy. Even in this story, no heroic character surpasses her power.
> 
> I can't hate her. So, I believe she deserved to earn her happy ending after loads and loads of struggles and self-awareness. Rey Palpatine is dead, but Rey Skywalker? No. Plus? Rey realizing her mistakes and taking back her life is good storytelling for me. Fuck bashing, character development is so much better. In fact, this made me enjoy writing Rey and I consider her one of my most morally complex characters.
> 
> Also, I hope everyone who got Old Timeline flashbacks has positive ones reading the last sentence.


End file.
